Review - O-So Butterscotch Root Beer

Bottler: Orca Beverage Company

Calories per Ounce: 14.2

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: Normally I consider most root beers to have enough flavor on their own as root beer without adding something like butterscotch.  In fact, before I tried O-So Butterscotch Root Beer, I thought the idea of adding butterscotch to root beer sounded like it would be quite a bit of overkill. This soda, however, manages to add a just enough of a hint of butterscotch to the cinnamon spice of the root beer to make this unusual combination work. Adding ice subdues the root beer flavor and makes the butterscotch blossom, yielding a taste that is almost just a butterscotch soda. As one might expect, adding ice cream to butterscotch tinged root beer works quite well, resulting in a root beer float that tastes like root beer poured over a butterscotch sundae. The overall result is that if you like butterscotch, you will probably like this soda.

Review - Monticello Root Beer

Bottler: Old Dominion Brewing Company

Calories per Ounce: 14.2

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: One of the side effects one will get as a result of reading this blog is a healthy dose of the range of sodas that are mostly only available in or near Charlottesville, Virginia. I don't live in Charlottesville, but I am a graduate of the University of Virginia, and I live close enough that I can visit a couple of times a year. The last time I was there I found this local soda and picked up a bottle. Like Dominion Root Beer, Monticello Root Beer is flavored with honey, which gives the soda something of a smooth texture while still retaining the spicy bite of good root beer. With ice, the honey flavor comes to the fore and the spicy bite is muted, making the entire experience a much smoother one. With the smooth honey and spicy bite, it should come as no surprise that it mixes well with ice cream, merging with the sweetness of the vanilla to deliver an excellent spicy-sweet combination. Overall, this is a very good root beer, and one that I recommend trying if one gets the opportunity.

Review - Dang! That's Good Root Beer

Bottler: Imperial Flavors Beverage Company

Calories per Ounce: 15

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: Dang! That's Good Root Beer is, as it's name suggests, an excellent spicy and flavorful root beer. Like most root beers, this one seems to be made with a vanilla flavored base, with a collection of spices added including nutmeg and possibly anise. This gives this root beer a rich and full flavor without making it heavy. Adding ice punches up the spiciness and makes this soda's flavor even more interesting. Using this root beer in an ice cream float creates a truly excellent result as the spicy flavor of the root beer combines with the vanilla flavor of the ice cream, enhancing them both. Ultimately, this root beer is one of the best root beers I have tried.

Review - Abita Root Beer

Bottler: Abita Brewing Company

Calories per Ounce: 14.75

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: Abita Root Beer, unlike many other sodas made in the United States, is sweetened with sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. This means that this root beer tastes somewhat lighter than many other sodas, although it is still fairly high in calories per ounce. The root beer has a nice vanilla flavor backed by a spicy undercurrent of nutmeg and anise. Over ice, this spicy flavor is undiminished. Because the soda uses cane sugar as a sweetener, it makes an excellent base for a root beer float, as the soda doesn't foam up like corn syrup sweetened sodas do when ice cream is added. Further, the slightly spicy flavor of the root beer provides a good complement for the sweet creaminess of the ice cream, resulting in a very good float.

Review - Anchor Ginger Root Beer

Bottler: Orca Beverage Soda Works

Calories per Ounce: 14.2

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: Anchor Ginger Root Beer is, as its name might suggest, a curious combination of root beer and ginger beer. The up front taste is that of a fairly spicy root beer: Vanilla, cinnamon, possibly anise or nutmeg. But underlying this root beer flavor is the taste of ginger which makes this soda unusual to say the least. The flavor is not appreciably changed with ice, although the ginger undercurrent is slightly muted. With ice cream, the soda foams up slightly, but not nearly as much as most other root beers. The vanilla of the ice cream highlights the unusual spice mixture of the root beer, bringing the anise and ginger to the front. This is definitely a quirky soda, but it is also a pretty good one.

Review - Bundaberg Root Beer

Bottler: Bundaberg Brewed Drinks

Calories per Ounce: 15

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: With a unique pull-tab and a cute barrel shaped bottle, Bundaberg Root Beer certainly sports an unusual appearance. The quirky look of the container is matched by the quirky taste of the root beer inside, which seems almost mild at first but has an undercurrent of spiciness that kicks in after the initial wash of smoothness. Some people have a negative reaction to Bundaberg Root Beer, which I attribute to the fact that this soda is flavored with sassafras, ginger, and licorice root as well as the usual vanilla, which means that the usual overwhelming vanilla flavor is not dominant. With ice, the background spices become even more prominent, making this an even more unusual and interesting drink. Because it is made in Australia, it is sweetened with sugar rather than corn syrup, and as a result it doesn't foam up as much as corn syrup sodas do when ice cream is added. The smooth nature of Bundaberg root beer coupled with the spiciness makes it a very good complement to ice cream, resulting in a superior root beer float.

A Big Thank You to Dustin

I went to Gen Con this past week and received a gift that I knew was coming and yet was entirely unexpected. Dustin of the Undergophers was involved in the discussions that led to the creation of this blog. Prior to Gen Con, he told me that he intended to bring me a care package of sodas from various outlets near where he lives. So I knew he was bringing me some sodas to review. What I didn't know was that he was bringing me two whole boxes of sodas. I simply didn't know the scale of his generosity, and I am so very grateful to him. This gift is without a doubt the most substantial gift anyone has ever given me as a result of my blogging. On my book blog Dreaming About Other Worlds I frequently get offered (and often accept) review copies of books. But those aren't gifts. The books are being offered to me with the expectation that I will read and review them - a benefit to the publisher and author. So there is something of a quid pro quo there. But this gift from Dustin is in a completely different category, and I am using this post to publicly express my gratitude at his magnanimity.

Review - Mug Root Beer

Bottler: PepsiCo

Calories per Ounce: 13

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: Mug Root Beer is a somewhat spicier root beer than most other big name brands of root beer, garnishing the usual vanilla base flavor with what seems to be some combination of cinnamon and nutmeg. This gives Mug Root Beer a sharper taste than other root beers that rely heavily on vanilla for their flavoring, such as A&W. When served with ice, much of the spiciness is muted, which robs Mug of much of what makes it unique. Used in an ice cream float, the spicy flavor is still muted, but remains noticeable enough to add an interesting and tasty counterpoint to the vanilla of the ice cream.

Review - Virgil's Root Beer

Bottler: Reed's, Inc.

Calories per Ounce: 13.3

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: Virgil's Root Beer is one of the few root beers I have had in which the dominant flavor is not vanilla. Instead, it has an elusive spicy flavor that may be cinnamon or nutmeg, or possibly a combination of both over just a hint of vanilla flavor. The flavor is not appreciably changed when ice is added, although the somewhat tangy aftertaste becomes more prominent. Virgil's is very foamy, something that becomes even more apparent when it is combined with ice cream. As an ice cream float is is reasonably good, with the spiciness of the root beer complementing the vanilla of the ice cream fairly well. Overall, Virgil's Root Beer is unusual enough to be interesting, but not good enough to be memorable.

Review - Stewart's Root Beer

Bottler: Dr. Pepper

Calories per Ounce: 13.3

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: Stewart's Root Beer is, thus far, my favorite root beer brand. Stewart's manages to combine the smooth up-front taste of vanilla with a decidedly spicy undercurrent of flavor that I can't quite place, but may be cinnamon. The only real drawback for the blend is that when it is consumed over ice, it loses much of its punch. As a root beer float, on the other hand, the spiciness is enhanced by the ice cream, creating a superior experience.

Review - IBC Root Beer

Bottler: Dr. Pepper

Calories per Ounce: 13.3

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: IBC Root Beer markets itself as having a "creamy" flavor, reflecting its obviously heavy vanilla content and sweetness. Taken straight, it is heavy on carbonation, with a distinct carbonated bite. Over ice, the bite is mellowed and the promised creamy flavor dominates. IBC is one of my favorite brands of root beer for ice cream floats as the ice cream mellows the root beer, pushing forward the creamy vanilla flavor of the soda, which retains just enough of a hint of its normal bite to remain interesting. Overall, IBC is one of the best mass marketed root beers available.

Review - Barq's Root Beer

Bottler: Barq's, Inc., a Coca-Cola Company.

Calories per Ounce: 13.3

Caffeinated? Yes.

Aaron's Comments: Barq's Root Beer has always tasted a little different from other root beers to me, and a little research revealed why - it was not originally formulated as root beer, but is instead a sarsparilla based drink. Barq's is also different from most other root beers in that it contains caffeine. It has a sharper taste than most other root beers, and almost no taste of vanilla. Over ice, Barq's loses much of its bite, and becomes almost bland. It makes an adequate, although unspectacular root beer float, as the sharp flavor doesn't blend particularly well with ice cream.

Review - A&W Root Beer

Bottler: Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.

Calories per Ounce: 14.5

Caffeinated? No.

Aaron's Comments: Every journey has to begin somewhere, and this soda trek is starting with the most basic of root beer brands - A&W. Due to its almost ubiquitous nature, for most people, this is probably the "baseline" root beer with which they are familiar. The dominant flavor in A&W Root Beer is vanilla, which gives the soda a very smooth flavor. It also has a very sweet taste, probably because there is little in the vanilla-based mix of root flavors that offsets the sugar content. I think that this soda tastes better with ice, mostly because the ice breaks up the relentlessly sweet flavor. This sweet, smooth flavor does make for a superior root beer float as the vanilla flavor in the root beer enhances the vanilla flavor in the ice cream. The combination makes for a very intense level of vanilla flavor, so if one wasn't enthused by vanilla, then maybe it wouldn't be so good. I happen to like the vanilla-upon-vanilla flavor, so I find it to be an excellent combination.