Zuberfizz root beer

Background information: (from the website) "We take pride in the manufacturing process, ingredients and packaging we use at Durango Soda Company Inc. Each batch is handcrafted in small quantities with fresh Rocky Mountain water from the San Juans. Our finished product is then transferred to glass bottles - a superior container to aluminum or plastic for both taste and the environment. So twist one off and drink it down. It's the real deal."


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Durango Soda Company Inc., Durango, Colorado. 159 calories, 43g sugar.  Glass bottle with twist off top.  http://www.zuberfizz.com


Ingredients: Triple-Filtered Carbonated Water, Pure Cane Sugar, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Caramel Color, Gum Arabic, Phosphoric Acid and Sodium Benzoate.


My thoughts: It's been a few months since my last root beer, so I was hoping to return with an übergetränk, and I thought with a name like Zuberfizz, how could I go wrong?  "Zuber" sounds exciting and powerful, while "fizz" sounds...well...fizzy.

Flavor-wise, it's strong, but artificial.  I can't taste much except the rooty flavor, with nary a hint of spices except for a lingering minty aftertaste.  Not bad, but nothing special.  It's also a little bit sugary syrup tasting, not particularly bad, but again, nothing special.  The carbonation starts out just about right, but as I drank my way through the bottle, the fizz fizzled out.  Is it "creamy" smooth like the label suggests?  Sure, but nothing extraordinary.

In the end, my übergetränk ended up being a mittelmäßiggetränk, neither exceeding nor lagging behind your garden variety, grocery store root beers.


Rating: C
flavor: C-
aftertaste: C
sweetness: C
smoothness: B
carbonation: C-