They call it Mister Pibb (again)

As Pibb is the official beverage of Old Vintage Computing Research, no doubt to the profound chagrin of the Coca-Cola Company, I feel compelled to offer a public service announcement.

Old and busted:

New hotness:

Yes, Mr Pibb (technically mr P!BB, though Coca-Cola is inconsistent on their own brand name) is back and Pibb Xtra, the face of Pibb since 2001, is relegated to the dust heap with Peppo. This explains why I had been unable to buy any more Pibb Xtra for the past month or so — Coke was probably depleting their stocks for the switchback. Since Old VCR's northern HQ is relatively close to a Coke bottling plant, I was able to pick up two fridge packs at Safeway today, though not exactly what I was expecting!

Besides the new can, the additional caffeine (30% more, though 54mg/can vs 40mg/can is probably not physiologically relevant for most people) and the additional ten calories, the other change is the taste. Now, Coke's marketdroids play the usual crap here and describe it in almost contradictory terms as "a comeback" yet possessing "a bold, spicy cherry taste with hints of caramel." But actually ...

... this tastes mostly like the original. Although I'm disappointed it's HFCS and not cane sugar, it tastes like I remember classic Pibb tasting when McDonald's had it on fountain back in the day. Yes, this is also what my dad would water down with Coke to make a "Poke" because he found it too sweet, but even my wife, who is not a fan of any Pepper-style beverage generally, prefers this flavour to Xtra. The only other mark against it is a mildly spicy aftertaste that lingers a touch longer than it should, though Xtra does that a little bit too.

Overall I like them both, but clearly Xtra is on the way out. It's kind of funny given that Coke not too long ago released those limited edition Stranger Things New Coke cans:

I actually didn't mind New Coke and the Stranger Things reformulation tasted approximately correct to my fuzzy memories of the original New Coke despite being good to have Classic (this is also true of early versions of Mac OS X). Still, both drinks are retro throwbacks in their own ways, one to the new and busted and the other to the old hotness, though this move implies Coca-Cola has more confidence in reviving old Pibb than New Coke — or at least is more willing to sink Pibb than Coke if they end up guessing wrong. I'll be putting a can of Pibb Xtra in my collection for posterity along with my last bottle of Dublin Dr Pepper, the finest Dr Pepper variant ever made.

For the sake of my day job, I should also officially state you should consume Mr Pibb/Pibb Xtra or any other sugar-sweetened beverage in moderation. After all, as Steve Jobs famously said to John Sculley, "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me [from Pepsi] and change the world?" If you don't have a Coke bottling plant in your vicinity, which is probably where the "select markets" are, Coke says you'll get it in the "national rollout" sometime in 2026 — and it may also be coming to a soda fountain near you.