Turns out Coca-Cola isn't the only soft drink to have some interesting botanical ingredients. Yes, Coke still contains coke–or at least, a cocaine-free extract of the coca leaf, but did you know that the original formula for Dr. Pepper may have contained the narcotic mandrake root?
Check out this auction listing for a handwritten ledger book from the Waco Drug Store. It contains a recipe for "Dr. Pepper Pepsin Bitters." Some of the ingredients are illegible on my screen, but mandrake is certainly there.
In case this listing disappears by the time you read this, I must share some of the other wonderful recipes in this notebook, which, by the way, has an opening bid of $25,000:
Dr. Wilkes Dead Shot for Tape Worm
Red Lead Ointment
Indelible Ink
La Grippe Remedies
Orange-Flower Skin Food
Coating Solution for Rx Counter
Bust Developer
Castles Hair Restorer
Stephen's Condition Powder
Miller Chill Tonic
Conger's Horse Powder
I could totally use a Miller Chill Tonic about now. Is it five o'clock yet?