I discovered it at the Georgia National Fair in Perry. Usually, I get a slice of pickle pizza, but this year I ended up with a Pickle Dr. Pepper instead. Now, I love pickles and I love Dr. Pepper, but even I have to admit, it sounds gross… yet it’s surprisingly refreshing!

If you want to try it, I’ll tell you exactly what to do, but don’t hold it against me if you don’t follow my directions to the letter. What you’re aiming for is that moment when it feels like pickles just walked past while you’re drinking a cold Dr. Pepper on a hot day.

I drink Dr. Pepper Zero and start with a can of that. You’ll need Hamburger Dill Fast Food Style Pickle Chips. I get mine at Kroger, but if your grocer doesn’t carry them, just ask for a side of pickles (and a little juice) from McDonald’s, Waffle House, or any place that uses those same pickles. Fill a large glass halfway with pebble ice. Fill the glass about three-quarters full with Dr. Pepper. Then drop in a clump of maybe six to eight pickles and pour in just the tiniest bit of pickle juice… maybe a quarter tablespoon? Honestly, I don’t measure it. I just add a small splash. Then top it off with the rest of the Dr. Pepper.

Drinking this somehow reminds me of eating BBQ from Bob Gibson’s in Decatur, Alabama, in the summertime during the ’70s and ’80s. We never had sauce on that pork… it didn’t need it. That was award-winning pork. Mr. Gibson knew what he was doing. My dad would pour on the hot sauce until his face broke out in beads of sweat, which I still don’t understand. But me? I had pickles. Pickles that tasted just like these. There’s something magical about how a simple flavor can pull you back through time. Somehow, the memory of my father (who’s been gone nearly 30 years) the smell of slow-cooked pork, and the crunch of those pickles all come rushing back while I sip a Dr. Pepper laced with the same flavor.

Try it. I hope you like it. At the very least, I hope maybe it will rekindle some long stored memories for you as well.

30 October 2025 – I’ve had to make an edit to this page because I’ve reached the age where “a couple of years” ago was a least 10 years ago. Time is weird.