Monday, July 25, 2016

Deadworld Twilight Shuffler root beer

Pictured here, the "Tattoo" version of the bottle.
Background information: (from the website) "Our premium beverage offerings provide great flavor by using all-natural blends of ingredients and are completely free of artificial substitutes.

Deadworld Zombie Soda is a premium beverage line conceived, marketed and sold by Caprice Brands LLC based in Livonia Michigan. The premium bottled drinks are manufactured by Intrastate Distributors located in Detroit Michigan. Intrastate Distributors is one of Michigan's largest beverage bottlers with brands such as Frostie Root Beer and Towne Club.


Currently the Deadworld Zombie Soda beverages are available in 12 flavors. What makes the zombie sodas unique is our partnership with various comic book artists who have provided their own creative spin to the bottle labels with depictions of various zombie images. Primarily based on the characters and events that take place in Deadworld comic book universe."

(from the bottle) "All natural flavors for un-natural tastes."


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Bottled by Intrastate Distributors Inc., 20021 Exeter St., Detroit, MI 48203. 144 calories, 382g sugar.  Glass bottle with twist off top. http://www.deadworldzombiesoda.com/


Ingredients: Carbonated water, pure cane sugar, natural and artificial flavors, phosphoric acid, caramel color, sodium benzoate (a preservative).


My thoughts: This root beer looks so metal. Like if Metalocalypse had a love child with The Walking Dead.

My initial impression is that this doesn't completely rock my world, but it is pretty good. There is a nice strong rooty sassafras flavor that seems pretty natural, instead of the faker candy-like flavor of the lesser drinks. There is a fairly noticeable vanilla component and some wintergreen going on, though the wintergreen becomes stronger with the aftertaste. There may be some other spices lingering underneath there, but none strong enough that I can specifically call them out.

Sweetness is almost just right, though just a little bit on the sugary side for me. But it's very close to what I prefer. The carbonation is pretty strong and slightly prickly on the tongue. Just how I like it. By the last third or quarter of the bottle, however, and it's lost a lot of it's fizz. A little more longevity and this would be great. Always at odds with the carbonation, the smoothness really isn't bad. It has a creamy feeling to it, even as it seems slightly harsh on the tongue. It's a very difficult property to pull off without the carbonation suffering too much, but Deadworld makes an admirable effort.

In the even of a zombie apocalypse that halts all other root beer production, I could be satisfied with just this root beer. It does a lot right and not too much wrong. I'd like for there to be a little more definition to the different spices, helping them pop out a little instead of just blending in with the sassafras, wintergreen and vanilla. But for a bottle of root beer that I thought would rely mostly on the gimmick of zombies to sell it, the drink itself is pretty good.


Rating: B+
flavor: B+
aftertaste: B-
sweetness: A-
smoothness: B
carbonation: B


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