Boots Sarsaparilla root beer

Background information: (from the website) "Boots Beverages was created by Mark Kristen's father, when Kristen Distributing was little more that a Bottling Company. They bottled things like Dr. Pepper, Nesbitt, 7Up, and Frosty root beer. Boots Beverages featured seasonal flavors, similar to craft beers today. People didn't have much in those days. Getting a Dreamsicle or going to the picture show was a highlight of your day, and you talked about it for weeks. In honor of his father and the sacrifices the entire family made to keep the family business afloat, Mark reintroduced the brand, which features flavors that were popular during the 1940's and 1950's. A small way to remember the things that add the greatest flavor to our lives are often simple."

(from the bottle) "Ambrose Kristen - Ambrose voyaged from German to Galveston in the early 1800's. His father lost his life en route , leaving this 16 year old to establish the family foothold. Ambrose, an accomplished wheelright, set up shop on the German Trace near Industry. There, he helped other settlers on their journey to the Texas Hill country. In 1930, Ambrose purchased the Bellville Bottling Works. The honor of his courageous vision is our legacy."


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Bellville Bottling Works, Bryan, Texas. 170 calories, 43g sugar.  Glass bottle with pry off top.  http://bootsbeverages.com


Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Sugar, Natural Flavors, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Quillaja Extract, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Potassium Sorbate (Preservative).


My thoughts: Though Sarsaparilla has origins in its own beverage originating from the Smilax regelii plant of Central and South America, it too, like root beer, was sold as a medicinal beverage with a similar flavor to root beer. The modern "sasparilla" is now largely artificially flavored and lost the popularity war with its sassafras flavored, root beer counterpart. What does this mean for this "sarsparilla root beer"? I guess I'll see if I can taste anything distinctively different from the other root beers I've sampled.

Well, I'll get straight to the point. I quite like it. It has a pretty tame rooty flavor, but there is a strong vanilla influence to it, and, in a way, reminds me a lot of the butterscotch root beers I've tried. The non-rooty flavors are not subtle and there doesn't seem to be a lot of complexity to it, but it is a nice way to shake up the usual taste. The aftertaste is dominated more by the butterscotch/vanilla flavor, but it does go the slightest bit thin.

Sweetness is pleasant, though may feel a bit on the sugary side as the flavor feels a bit "candy" sweeter, but it's not prohibitively sweet by any means. I think the butterscotch candy flavor makes it feel that way, so isn't directly due to the actual sugar content (which seems to be right on average looking at the 43g on label). Now, the most disappointing aspect: carbonation. While it started off fizzy enough, the bubbles quickly lost their power and by halfway through the bottle, it was downright flat. Now, I've had this bottle sitting around for a little while, so perhaps part of that is age related, but I like my root beers to offer a bit more kick throughout the bottle. Smoothness is nice, as the addition of quillaja extract does it's usual job of creating a creaminess that I always find enticing. I'd be very curious to see how the creaminess would hold up if mixed with a more aggressive carbonation.

In the end, I didn't find anything particularly sarsaparilla-ish about this drink, as it was more of a caramel/vanilla flavor with a little rootiness, so either the artificial sarsaparilla is doing a superb job of approximating sassafras, or the name is just a marketing gimmick. I liked the flavor pretty well, but this drink is seriously hamstrung by the lack of effervescence.


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