The bitter, extended legal battle between the 120-year-old Dr Pepper plant in Dublin, Texas and its parent company, Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS), has finally been resolved. At issue were the liberties that the Dublin plant had taken both with its distribution and merchandising, as the plant had long sold its cane sugar-sweetened cola far outside of its allowable distribution area as per the terms of its franchise agreement with DPS. Whether that resolution will please avid fans of the Dublin brand of Dr Pepper remains to be seen.

According to a press release sent out this afternoon, Dublin Dr Pepper as we knew it has now ceased to exist. Says the release:

Under the terms of their agreement, DPS has purchased all of the Dublin bottler's sales and distribution operations and related assets, as well as the rights to distribute Dr Pepper and other DPS brands in the six-county territory previously served by Dublin. The former Dr Pepper bottler now does business as Dublin Bottling Works Inc. It will continue to produce other soft drinks at its bottling facility and operate its museum and Old Doc's Soda Shop, offering tours and selling soft drinks, food and officially licensed Dr Pepper merchandise.

"We want to thank our many customers for their support of our family-owned business during the past 120 years, and we want them to know that Dr Pepper is still a big part of Dublin," said Jeff Kloster, vice president of the newly-dubbed Dublin Bottling Works. Kloster has been a part of the Dublin bottling plant for years; the plant's name has changed, but his title hasn't.

"We hope customers will continue to visit our town, the W.P. Kloster Museum and Old Doc's Soda Shop, where they can still enjoy Dr Pepper sweetened with cane sugar," Kloster continued.

The good news in this situation is that DPS and the Dublin Bottling Works have agreed to continue making the Dr Pepper with cane sugar -- a special ingredient that always set Dublin's Dr Pepper apart from all the other bottlers in the U.S.

Says the press release:

DPS will now distribute Dr Pepper sweetened with cane sugar throughout Dublin's former territory, and continue to sell it in other areas of Texas, including Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and Waco. It's the same product Dublin sold. It will still be bottled and canned in distinct, nostalgic packaging. The only difference is it will not reference Dublin on the label.