The late comedian Mitch Headberg once quipped, "They say Diet Dr. Pepper tastes like regular Dr. Pepper...Well then they f*#ked up." To improve that scathing review, the good folks at Dr. Pepper have come out with a new variation on the original, Dr. Pepper Ten.

The label proudly boasts ten bold calories (per serving of course!), but can that statement really live up to the taste, and more importantly the flavor? For those who like diet drinks, Diet Dr. Pepper is certainly one of the more easy drinking, true to the sugar version, than most other sodas. So, what Dr. Pepper has done, is add sugar, HFCS sadly, to the diet version Ten.

What's been produced is actually better than anticipated. First sip, I was wincing just a little for the nasty, and immediate, aftertaste diet drinks have. Once the gulp made it down, I was happy to find no bitter, tinny taste left. The cherry flavor of Dr. Pepper really shines through, and a good balance of sweetness and fizz.

Where this drink falls flat is lingering aftertaste. While there is no bitter aftertaste, the soda lingers in the mouth like a coating. And in the coating, you can taste the artificial sweetener used to make this drink Ten bold calories (per serving).

There is truly nothing particularly bold with this drink. Coca Cola came out many years ago with C2, a regular/diet mix. Unlike that, which was very watery and dull, Dr.Pepper Ten stands out as a good low calorie soft drink.

Uniqueness: *

Taste: ***

Overall: 2.5