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+
