Red Rock root beer

Background information: (from the wikipedia) "The Red Rock Company was founded in 1885 by Lee Hagan and G. T. Dodd of Atlanta, Georgia. Dodd initially introduced ginger ale as the company's first product, which became popular in the Southern U.S. By 1938, Red Rock was an early leader in the distribution of carbonated beverages, distributing 12-ounce bottles by way of a distribution network of 200 bottlers. By 1947, Red Rock products were bottled in 45 of the 48 U.S. states but by 1958, the company's success began to decline.

Red Rock Cola was endorsed by famous baseball player Babe Ruth. Posters of his endorsement were printed in 1939."

An article from 1998 about the company: https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/1998/07/27/smallb1.html

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Produced under the authority of Red Rock Licensees by Clayton Dist. Co., Inc. Austell, Georgia 30168. 170 calories, 47g sugar. Glass bottle with twist off top. www.rocketfizz.com

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


My thoughts: I've only recently visited Atlanta for the first time. I had a great time there and met a bunch of really cool people. So I have a positive impression of the town. The television series Atlanta is visionary, so another win for "Atlanta" in my book. So will this root beer (I found it in a completely non-Atlanta related gas station in Texas) achieve the triple Atlanta crown, propelling that namesake to it's third victory (I guess fourth if you, unlike me, care about baseball)? Well, it's the bottom of the 9th and the bases are loaded with Atlanta is down by three, read on to see if Red Rock strikes out or manages the grand slam to bring home the prize (there, that metaphor should satisfy you baseball fans and hopefully redeem me somewhat in your eyes).

Well, I like what they are doing here. While there is a strong rooty flavor, I like that there is also a very strong vanilla and caramel taste. It reminds me of the homemade caramels my mother used to make. This makes for a very nice combination with the regular root beer flavor. The aftertaste that follows is just a mellowing of the flavor, with the caramel sticking around the longest. And, while I don't taste any mint flavor, I'm pretty certain it's in the mix as this drink leaves the telltale cooling signs. No mint flavor but with the cooling aftermath!?!? Give me more like this!

Following up the great flavor is some great carbonation. The CO2 bubbles are nice and prickly without being too aggressive, dancing across my tastebuds with delight. It settles down to a decently creamy sensation as I swallow it, giving it a nice, smooth finish. Like most sodas, it's sugar derived and you have to expect the usual sugary coating they leave behind, but this one works fairly well, not seeming too overly syrupy. It could probably be a tiny bit less thick feeling, but I'm just nitpicking at this point. (note: Now that I look at the nutrition facts, I see it has more sugar than the usual, so that might be why it feels a little sugar-thick.)

To be honest, I was just expecting this drink to hit a double, putting in a solid effort but not winning the game. Little did I expect it would smash my expectations out of the field, just skimming over the outstretched hand of the left fielder for a grand slam win! I don't know that it's necessarily the very best root beer I've had (it doesn't have the complex notes of different spices that truly separate those select few), but I would be remiss if I didn't give it winning score. It's been a while since I've had a root beer that I would immediately want in my fridge again, but this is one of those. Highly recommended.

Edit: I usually don't read other reviews before drinking root beers so they don't influence my perception. So after completing my review I was surprised to discover that the first search result that came up for this root beer also uses a baseball analogy. This was a surprising coincidence, but I'm not going to rewrite my review just to avoid it. I swear, I didn't copy their idea. So sorry if this root beer has too many baseball references in conjunction with it.

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

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