"The OZMB team is comprised of the mother and daughter combo of Debbie Walters and Tina King. Tina’s husband, Chris King, is also a joint owner in the company. The OZMB team brings together years of business experience and an entrepreneurial spirit to form a company based on family values and community involvement."
"Our Root Beer is handcrafted with 100% pure cane sugar. It is designed to highlight the classic flavors of Root Beer and Sarsaparilla to create a unique taste unlike anything else on the market."
Product details: 12 fl. oz. Ozark Mountain Bottleworks, Branson, MO. 160 calories, 30g sugar. Glass bottle with twist off top. www.ozmb.com
Ingredients: Carbonated Spring Water, Pure Cane Sugar, Natural Flavors, Caramel Color, Quillaja Extract, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Potassium Sorbate (Preservative).
My thoughts: With a lower than average sugar content, I'm curious to see how this root beer turns out. I'm always happy when I see quillaja as an ingredient, as I know it'll have an excellent creamy sensation, so hopefully this one doesn't let me down. Okay, time to drink!
The root beer flavor is strong with this one...but in a generic way. It has a strong sassafras taste, but seems to lack most of the usual spices that add variety. Oh yeah, except the "punch you in the face" wintergreen, which almost overwhelms the rest of the flavor. There might be other things going on in their mix, but I can't taste it over the mint, which becomes even more pronounced as an aftertaste. While I don't mind a mintier aftertaste and I like a little wintergreen, this one is too much for me. If you're a wintergreen fan, this might be the root beer you're looking for.
Carbonation is nice, with smaller feeling bubbles that provide just a little bit of sting. It seems to be fairly consistent through drinking the whole bottle, only slightly lessening in strength as I reached the bottom. The quillaja extract makes for a nice, creamy sensation, helping it to feel smooth and frothy. Sweetness is spot on, which comes at a bit of a surprise with only 30g of sugar instead of the 40g or so in the average root beer. It doesn't leave my mouth feeling overly syrupy or sugar coated.
While the flavor is pedestrian and too minty for my taste, I like what Ozark Mountain Bottleworks is doing with the other aspects. They certainly nailed the carbonation, smoothness, and sugar, but those aspects are overshadowed by the taste. I'd like to see what they could do with better proportioned ratio of the spices they use. Alas, I don't think this will be one I'd make the effort to buy again.
Rating: C-
flavor: D+
aftertaste: C-
sweetness: A
smoothness: A
carbonation: A
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