Rocket Fizz root beer (with nutmeg)

Background information: (from the website) "Ryan Morgan and Rich Shane own The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops, LLC. It was founded in 2007 by Ryan and Robert (Rob) Powells. Rich joined in 2012 as the company’s CEO.

The original store opened in 2009. The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop is the largest and fastest growing soda pop and candy shop franchise brand in America.

All of the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop locations throughout the U.S.A. and Canada are franchised and are independently owned and operated. Rich, Ryan, and Bob Campbell (our Vice President of Franchising) carefully select each Rocket Fizz franchise store operator."

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Intellectual property of and bottled by the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops LLC, P.O. Box 5400, Incline Village, NV 89450. 170 calories, 42g sugar. Brown glass bottle with pry off top. https://www.rocketfizz.com/

Ingredients: Carbonated artesian spring water, pure cane sugar, citric acid, ester gum, caramel color and natural flavors. No preservatives: flash pasteurized for safety.

My thoughts: Rocket Fizz has produced many root beers over the years under a variety of names, but this one is the root beer they deemed worthy of bearing the company name. I've found their root beers to generally be a bit below average, so not a stellar record. So does this one finally break out of the rut of mediocrity, or simply continue the trend? Read on to find out!

The very initial flavor hit brings on the rooty sassafras flavor root beer is known for, but it's a very thin flavor, fading away extremely fast to a more watered down aftertaste. I like the flavor, there's just not enough of it that sticks around. I like what the nutmeg is doing, even if I feel like I smell the nutmeg more than I taste it, but it does add a bit of texture to the flavor profile. There is a bit of vanilla in the flavor as well as wintergreen, with the wintergreen playing a more prominent role in the aftertaste and leaving a cooling sensation behind.

This is a well carbonated root beer from start to finish. While it may not be quite as aggressively bubbly as I like, it presents a solid fizz that won't prickle your tongue too hard, but also not going flat. I like the amount of sweetness and the cane sugar doesn't leave as syrupy of a mouth coating behind. The root beer does foam and froth up a little, so gives it a slightly creamy texture that helps it feel smooth. 

Of all the Rocket Fizz in-house varieties I've tried, this is my favorite so far. Yes, the flavor leaves a bit to be desired (from a strength and longevity standpoint), but I think the basic formulation tastes good. The aftertaste isn't too revealing of new flavors, but with how quickly the flavor dissipates, the aftertaste might be the main profile one ends up tasting. I wouldn't mind drinking this root beer again. I think the nutmeg brings an interesting flavor profile that sets it apart from your average root beer.

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

carbonation: B+

Hoover Dam root beer

Background information: (from the website) "Ryan Morgan and Rich Shane own The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops, LLC. It was founded in 2007 by Ryan and Robert (Rob) Powells. Rich joined in 2012 as the company’s CEO.

The original store opened in 2009. The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop is the largest and fastest growing soda pop and candy shop franchise brand in America.

All of the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop locations throughout the U.S.A. and Canada are franchised and are independently owned and operated. Rich, Ryan, and Bob Campbell (our Vice President of Franchising) carefully select each Rocket Fizz franchise store operator."

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Bottled and distributed by the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops, LLC. 170 calories, 42g sugar. Brown glass bottle with pry off top. https://www.rocketfizz.com/

Ingredients: Carbonated artesian spring water, pure cane sugar, citric acid, ester gum, caramel color and natural flavors. No preservatives: flash pasteurized for safety.

My thoughts: Okay, two Rocket Fizz produced root beers in a row. It would be a dam shame if this one is another mediocre Rocket Fizz root beer attempt.

This is a pretty straightforward root beer. It has a thicky, rooty sassafras taste with a good helping of vanilla. The flavor sticks around instead of fading away quickly, which I appreciate. The aftertaste reveals a touch of wintergreen, though it's more of the telltale cooling sensation than an overt flavor. The mint flavor did become more prominent in the aftertaste as I reached the end of the bottle, but never "toothpaste" levels of mintiness.

Carbonation is not great, as it's barely there at all. The first swig or two felt slightly carbonated, but then after that it was more of an "aftertaste" of carbonation that I could just barely feel at all. I thought it was appropriately sweet and didn't leave too much of a sugary coating behind. I described the flavor as "thick" and would also describe the texture the same way. This isn't a watery, light feeling root beer, with a heavier, more substantial texture to it so it feels very smooth and almost creamy to drink, though the lack of carbonation probably contributes to that.

For a basic, no frills root beer flavor, this one is good. It doesn't have an exceptionally complex flavor profile, but what it does have it goes all in on. They must have damed up the carbonation machine, as this is one flat root beer. I don't know if if was produced that way, or if the bottle is old. The Rocket Fizz location I went to (between Beverly Hills and Santa Monica) had super dusty shelves, with all the bottles coated in dust, so who knows how long they've been sitting there (and there's no manufacture date on the bottle itself). Either way, lack of carbonation is a damning trait to have. I would really like to try this with proper amounts of carbonation, as I think it has the capacity to be a "dam good soda" (but not a dam great one).

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

carbonation: D-

Chumlee root beer

Background information: (from the website): "The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops, LLC was founded in 2007 by Robert (Rob) Powells and Ryan Morgan and in 2012 Rich Shane became the company CEO. The original store opened in 2009. The Ventura, CA and Portland OR locations are company-owned. The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop is the largest and fastest growing soda pop and candy shop franchise brand in America. Besides the two company owned stores all of the other Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop locations throughout the U.S.A. and Canada are franchised and are independently owned and operated. As the creators and co-owners of the entire Rocket Fizz system, Rob and Ryan carefully select each Rocket Fizz franchise store operator."

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Intellectual property of and bottled by the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops, LLC., P.O. Box 5400, Incline Village, NV 89450. 170 calories, 42g sugar. Glass bottle with pry off top. www.rocketfizz.com

Ingredients: Carbonated artisan spring water, pure cane sugar, citric acid, ester gum, caramel color and natural flavors. No preservatives: flash pasteurized for safety.


My thoughts: Okay, I've seen the occasional episode of Pawn Stars and at least know who Chumlee is, but why he needed his own root beer, I'll never know. Seeing as how this comes from the Rocket Fizz lineup of root beers, I have a suspicion that it'll be another generic repackaging of their standard formula. I haven't had any of the Rocket Fizz root beers side by side to compare directly, but looking over my reviews they seem to provide a very similar experience, so maybe one day I'll do a side by side to see if they are all the same with just a different label, or if there is actually some customization of their basic recipe for each one. But today is not that day, so onto the Chumlee review I go.

Up front, this is a wintergreen minty root beer, as the mint is immediately noticeable as a main flavor rather than just an aftertaste. It blends with the usual sassafras root beer flavor in a decent mix, but with those two absolutely dominating the flavor profile, don't leave room for other more subtle spices to make themselves known. There is a little hint of vanilla in the aftertaste, but this is primarily a wintergreen flavor profile, with the minty taste and cooling effects lingering behind long after drinking it.

The carbonation is nice and crispy, though there's not as much of it as I would like. It doesn't feel flat, by any means, but it's not as infused with the sharp bite of the bubbles as I prefer, though I do tend to like my carbonation on the more aggressive side. Sweetness is fine, though it's slightly hard to say if it feels less syrupy because the cooling effect of the mint may cover up my ability to feel the more subtle sugary sensation. It doesn't seem to be as creamy as some of my favorites, but again, I wonder how much of that is my mouth being cooled/numbed by the strength of the mint.

This isn't a bad root beer by any means. In fact, I thought it was fairly good, slightly above average. I'm not a huge fan of extremely minty root beers, as I prefer a little more subtlety so I can enjoy the other flavors. Even so, I did enjoy this one and if you love minty root beers, then this might be what you're looking for. This also seems to be a fair bit mintier than past Rocket Fizz root beers, so I guess I can safely say that they do allow for variation in their root beer recipes, so at least all their drinks are just rebadges of the same thing.

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

Labrador butterscotch root beer

Background information: (from the website) "The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops, LLC was founded in 2007 by Robert (Rob) Powells and Ryan Morgan and in 2012 Rich Shane became the company CEO. The original store opened in 2009. The Ventura, CA and Portland OR locations are company-owned. The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop is the largest and fastest growing soda pop and candy shop franchise brand in America. Besides the two company owned stores all of the other Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop locations throughout the U.S.A. and Canada are franchised and are independently owned and operated. As the creators and co-owners of the entire Rocket Fizz system, Rob and Ryan carefully select each Rocket Fizz franchise store operator. Any questions or comments regarding the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops company, its history, its future, or its founders and owners Rob and Ryan, must be directed to the Rocket Fizz company at info@rocketfizz.com."

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Bottled by the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shoppes, LLC., PO Box 3663. Camarillo, CA 93011. 170 calories, 42g sugar. Glass bottle with pry off top. www.rocketfizz.com

Ingredients: Spring water, pure cane sugar, citric acid, caramel color & natural flavors. No preservatives. Flash pasteurized for safety.


My thoughts: Here comes another root beer from the fairly decent Rocket Fizz lineup of drinks. While I've yet to find a top tier root beer from them, they haven't totally failed me yet. And, as I do enjoy the root beer and butterscotch flavor combination, I'm looking forward to seeing if this one is Best in Show worthy, or if it should be sent out to the dog house.

Like a bloodhound, my first impression is the scent. And this scent has a very strong smell of mint. So diving into the flavor, I'm not at all surprised to find a very minty taste. But what is surprising is that there isn't a very rooty flavor to it, as the mint completely overpowers it. But even more surprising is that I can't detect the butterscotch at all. If it wasn't on the bottle label, I would never know there was any butterscotch at all. As for the aftertaste, more mint. If I let the aftertaste flavor sit long enough and fade away, I *think* there might be the tiniest of hints of butterscotch, but maybe that's just my tastebuds playing mind tricks on my butterscotch expectations. As anybody who has read my reviews of other minty root beers knows, while I like a tiny bit of cooling mint, I don't like the toothpaste, in-your-face assault of strong mint flavor. So this isn't doing this one any favors.

So what does this one get right? Carbonation. It is strong, with a nice bite to it that stings my tongue just a little. While the actual bubbles aren't very large, it has a nice balance for those who like a strong carbonation without being overly aggressive. Unexpectedly, this one also follows through with a fairly creamy smoothness, leaving a contrastingly calm texture after the carbonation dissipates. It is slightly more sugary feeling in my mouth than some of my top root beers, so could probably benefit from a very minor reduction in sweetness. While not syrupy, it does leave a little more sugary coating than usual.

Let's get this out of the way: the "butterscotch" on the bottle is entirely misleading. As far as I can tell, this flavor just isn't there. Sorry to keep hounding on this, but what we have is an overabundance of mint. Root beers should have a variety of flavors from various spices, but everything is pushed aside by the mintiness. It's not a disgusting beverage (keep that in mind when looking at my ratings), but it's not really a good root beer. What I do like about this drink is the texture, with excellent carbonation and a pleasing creaminess. If they'd keep those attributes and work on the flavor balance, this could be a great root beer. As it is, I'm sending this one to the kennel.

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

Ramblin' Butterscotch root beer

Background information: (from the Monarch website) "A quick history of Ramblin' Root Beer. Following its introduction in 1979 Ramblin' became one of the most popular root beers in America.

The vintage brand's first commercial featured a cameo by a young Sarah Jessica Parker, and the accompanying jingle, "Ramblin' Root Beer's something more!" would be in the minds of Americans for years to come.

Today, with a lineup of new flavors and fresh, new package designs, the best root beer is back and brought friends along to remind the passionate fans what they've been missing."

So yeah, the website is pretty light on information. Not the worst I've seen (there have been some extremely sparse websites), but very basic.


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Bottled by Rocket Fizz under the authority of The Monarch Beverage Co., Inc. Atlanta, GA 30326. 150 calories, 37g sugar.  Glass bottle with twist off top. www.rocketfizz.com


Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Potassium Benzoate (as preservative), Natural Flavor, Quillaia Extract, and Phosphoric Acid.

My thoughts: Having reviewed the regular Ramblin' root beer as well as the Ramblin' Maple root beer, I have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this one. Ramblin' has never been strong on the rootiness, with a thin, watery sensation to the root beer flavor. So we'll see if the tradition continues.

Whereas the Maple variation had a very strong scent to it, there is only a subtle hint of butterscotch to the smell of this one. I like butterscotch, so expect this to be good and it's... *UGGH!* It's terrible! The butterscotch tastes like chemicals. I can't quite identify what it is, but it's awful. There is a slight butterscotch taste to it, but it's overwhelmed by the chemical taste. Gross. The aftertaste isn't much better, but a hint of rooty sassafras taste comes through.

Like it's predecessors, sweetness is pretty good, but it's hard to get a great grasp on it as I can't get past the horrible taste. Carbonation is good, with small, moderately aggressive bubbles. I don't know how well that carbonation sticks around through the bottle as I couldn't get more than about a quarter of the way through this one. While it does have quillaia extract, it isn't as smooth or creamy as I would expect and continues the streak of disappointment with this drink.

I'm pretty sure I've finished all the bottles of root beer I've tested except for one or two. This one gets the great distinction of being added to the list. I would, under no circumstance, recommend this one. Major fail.


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

Ramblin' Maple root beer

Background information: (from the Monarch website) "A quick history of Ramblin' Root Beer. Following its introduction in 1979 Ramblin' became one of the most popular root beers in America.

The vintage brand's first commercial featured a cameo by a young Sarah Jessica Parker, and the accompanying jingle, "Ramblin' Root Beer's something more!" would be in the minds of Americans for years to come.

Today, with a lineup of new flavors and fresh, new package designs, the best root beer is back and brought friends along to remind the passionate fans what they've been missing."

So yeah, the website is pretty light on information. Not the worst I've seen (there have been some extremely sparse websites), but very basic.


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Bottled by Rocket Fizz under the authority of The Monarch Beverage Co., Inc. Atlanta, GA 30326. 150 calories, 37g sugar.  Glass bottle with twist off top. www.rocketfizz.com


Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Potassium Benzoate (as preservative), Natural Flavor, Quillaia Extract, and Phosphoric Acid.


My thoughts: Having reviewed the regular Ramblin' root beer in the past, I'm curious to see if any of the basic traits remain, as that one had a very strong vanilla, but slightly watered down sassafras rootiness. This one, however, adds maple and is bottled by Rocket Fizz, rather than directly by Monarch Beverage.

Well, in the place of vanilla this one has an extremely strong maple taste to it, just like maple syrup. Following in the footsteps of the regular Ramblin' root beer, the sassafras flavor is fairly weak, perhaps exacerbated by the overwhelming strength of the maple. The flavors are somewhat complimentary, so it's not like the two are battling out in the flavor arena with two completely different taste directions in mind, so it works, but I'd call this a maple flavored soda first and a root beer second. There still is vanilla in there, with it being noticeable both in the initial taste as well as the aftertaste. The rootiness becomes pretty thin feeling in the aftertaste, again, just like the original Ramblin'.

I'm going to be lazy with this next part, as my previous review holds true for this one as well: Sweetness is pretty good, though perhaps a tad on the sugary side, as it leaves a moderately stronger than usual sugary feel in my mouth. That sensation is odd, seeing as how it has less sugar (37g) than the average root beer (generally 40-45g). Carbonation is decent, with a very fine bubble structure that doesn't prick the tongue. I wouldn't mind a slightly more aggressive effervescence to it, but it certainly isn't flat. As for smoothness, this is one of the creamier root beers, likely aided by the inclusion of quillaia extract, which usually lends a hand in this regard. It goes down nice and smooth.

So, my final thoughts. It's pretty good (better than I had anticipated after catching my first whiff of the super-maple scent) and an interesting flavor addition, but as a root beer, it feels like it's more of a maple soda than a root beer, so my scoring takes that into account with it tasting good, but not necessarily being a great root beer. I'd certainly drink it again and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it if you're in the mood for maple. If you are really craving root beer, perhaps look elsewhere.


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

The Three Stooges Wise Guy root beer

Background information: Another root beer brought to us by Rocket Fizz - "The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops, LLC was founded in 2007 by Robert (Rob) Powells and Ryan Morgan and in 2012 Rich Shane became the company CEO. The original "flagship" store located in Camarillo, California opened in 2009. The Camarillo and Sherman Oaks, California locations are company-owned. In under five years the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops has become the largest and fastest growing soda pop and candy shop franchise brand in America. Besides the two company owned stores all of the other Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop locations throughout the U.S.A. are franchised and are independently owned and operated. As the creators and co-owners of the entire Rocket Fizz system, Rob and Ryan carefully select each Rocket Fizz franchise store operator."


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Bottled by the Rocket Fizz Sode Pop and Candy Shops, LLC P.O. Box 3663, Camarillo, CA 93011. 170 calories, 42g sugar.  Glass bottle with twist off top.  http://www.rocketfizz.com


Ingredients: Spring water, cane sugar, citric acid, ester gum, caramel color & natural flavors.


My thoughts: I have to admit, I'm not a fan of the Three Stooges or their slapstick style of humor. Even as a child, I thought them very unfunny. So here we have a root beer named after them. Will I find it as incredibly unsatisfying as the Stooges themselves? Or will this drink transcend their terrible humor and achieve the lofty heights of Buster Keaton status? Find out, in the exciting* review below! (* disclaimer: the review may not be exciting).

Okay, I'm not going to make you wait. I'm not terribly impressed. This seems to be another fairly generic root beer cranked out by Rocket Fizz and then a zany label is attached. Not that it's bad, but for a bottled root beer, I expect more than a generic soda that I can get in a cheap can. It has a candy-like rootiness to it, with nary a hint of other spices other than a strong wintergreen presence and some slight vanilla, but the wintergreen is by far the dominating spice. The aftertaste has no major revelations, but I *might* be tasting a little bit of anise (licorice).

With it's candy-like taste, it comes off as feeling a bit on the sweet side. It isn't thick or syrupy, so isn't awful for a soda, so I can't really knock it down too far, as soda is fairly sugary on average. Now to the carbonation, I can only compare it to how the humor of the Stooges lands with me: flat. There is a little fizz to it initially, but as I hit the halfway point in the bottle, the carbonation has faded away to minimal amounts. Smoothness is nothing out of character with a flat drink and I wish it was creamier.

I'm glad Buster Keaton's name wasn't slapped on this root beer, as its qualities are more befitting the Three Stooges and their very unfunny brand of humor. I feel like Rocket Fizz isn't trying to make any exceptional root beers, but spends more time coming up with clever names to repackage their bland root beers. Don't get me wrong, I like the Rocket Fizz store with their huge selection of sodas, but their own branded drinks leave a lot to be desired. They aren't turning out anything super terrible, but nothing amazing either.

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

Joby Joe's root beer float

Background information: Joby Joe's is produced by Rocket Fizz. This particular variety came about after Rocket Fizz president and co-founder Robert Powells participated in the television show Undercover Boss, where he went undercover to see what improvements needed to be made to his business. During the course of one of these visits, he learned of franchise owner's Marianne Banales' loss of her brother and bonded with her due to his own experience with the passing of his girlfriend.

After concluding the show, Powells decided to honor Banales' brother, Joe, by creating a beverage based on his favorite soda, root beer. It's now carried in every Rock Fizz store.


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Intellectual property of and bottled by the Rocket Fizz Soda and Candy Shops, LLC, P.O. Box 3663, Camarillo, CA 93011. 170 calories, 42g sugar.  Glass bottle with twist off top.  http://rocketfizz.com/


Ingredients: Spring water, cane sugar, citric acid, caramel color, sodium benzoate (preservative), gum acacia, natural & artificial flavor.


My thoughts: Root Beer *Float*, eh? I'm a big fan of floats, so can this root beer live up to my lofty expectations? Well, I admit that I do like it. The flavor is good, though not super "rooty". It almost tastes like a vanilla and butterscotch drink, with a little bit of root beer hiding underneath those flavors. Certainly an interesting mix. It does feel pretty artificial in it's approach to taste, but at least it isn't a root beer candy kind of artificial. The aftertaste is primarily dominated by the butterscotch sensation.

The drink is pretty sweet and doesn't let you forget you're consuming a sugar-filled liquid. It has a candy-like feel to it, making it less refreshing on a hot day. It does seem to be moderately creamy and smooth, but not as creamy as I would expect from a "float". Carbonation is great, feeling fairly strong but it does lack a little bit of the crisp bite of the very best.

At the end of the bottle, I was quite satisfied, even if it isn't necessarily one of the best root beers. And perhaps that was one reason that I enjoyed what it did, giving me a little bit of the root beer experience while also providing a drink with a whole other appeal to it. I think this is one that I'd be happy to drink again.


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

Rocket Fizz root beer float

Background information: (from the website): "The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops, LLC was founded in 2007 by Robert (Rob) Powells and Ryan Morgan and in 2012 Rich Shane became the company CEO. The original "flagship" store located in Camarillo, California opened in 2009. The Camarillo and Sherman Oaks, California locations are company-owned. In under five years the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops has become the largest and fastest growing soda pop and candy shop franchise brand in America.

Besides the two company owned stores all of the other Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop locations throughout the U.S.A. are franchised and are independently owned and operated. As the creators and co-owners of the entire Rocket Fizz system, Rob and Ryan carefully select each Rocket Fizz franchise store operator. Any questions or comments regarding the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops company, its history, its future, or its founders and owners Rob and Ryan, must be directed to the Rocket Fizz company at info@rocketfizz.com. Thank you and we hope your day is a BLAST-off!"

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Intellectual property of and bottled by: Rocket Fizz Soda Pop & Candy Shops, LLC. P.O. Box 3663, Camarillo, CA 93011.  170 calories, 42g sugar. Glass bottle with twist off top. http://www.rocketfizz.com/


Ingredients: Carbonated water, sugar, citric acid, caramel color. sodium benzoate (preservative), gum acacia, natural & artificial flavor.


My thoughts: I like root beer.  I also like ice cream.  Combine the two and you have one of the most delicious concoctions on the face of the earth.  So when you have a rocket as part of your logo and name, it tells me that this concoction should be one of the most delicious things not only on the face of earth, but anywhere in space as well.  So, is this drink more SpaceX or Orbital Science?

This is sort of an odd root beer.  The initial flavor is moderately rooty, but there is a dominating creamy flavored overtone.  I'm not sure what the exact flavor is that I'm tasting; it's odd, but interesting.  Aftertaste reminds me a bit of the butterscotch root beers I've tried, but I'm not entirely certain that butterscotch is quite the right name for the flavor.  The website offers no insight into what these flavors might be.

Rocket Fizz root beer float is a pretty sweet drink, sort of reminding me of candy.  I'm left with a moderately sugary feeling in my mouth, a bit more than I care for.  This is probably due to trying to replicate the ice cream part of the float, something that's difficult to pull off without having chunks of the frozen goodness.  Carbonation is okay, but could certainly use a little more "fizz" to it.  This is a pretty creamy drink, though, and goes down nice and smooth.

Normally, I only go through about half a bottle figuring out my thoughts (and then I just finish off the other half while filling out the technical details such as product details, ingredients, and background info).  This drink was different enough that I drank the whole bottle just to compile this "my thoughts" section.  I don't necessarily love it, as it's a bit too candy-like, but it isn't a total disaster either.  In the end, it's an interesting root beer that offers something a bit different than I'm used to, for better or worse.  It's neither the SpaceX of root beers, nor is it the complete disaster of Orbital Science (note to self, don't buy old Russian rocket engines that were built well before I was born).  If you're looking for a root beer that is out of this world, you'll have to look elsewhere.

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

Root Beer win!

At the behest of a friend, I visited Rocket Fizz today to see if they had any root beers that I have not yet tried.  I expected to find one or two, so was pleasantly surprised to find eleven new root beers!  Combined with the other three I had acquired from Galco's, it seems that now I've got enough to keep me busy for a while.

Speaking of Rocket Fizz, that place has some very strange sodas.  A few that I can recall: bacon, peanut butter and jelly, ranch, and chocolate.  Some of the flavors sounded interesting, others downright disgusting.  But if you're in the market for a variety of strange carbonated beverages, Rocket Fizz is hard to beat!