OAK CREEK uber-premium Root Beers are hand-crafted in American Oak barrels with a medium char which increases the oak’s influence on the color, aroma, flavor, and overall style. Naturally flavored and made with real sugar, each small batch of OAK CREEK Root Beer spends no less than ONE YEAR aging in the oak so that the full benefits can be drawn out and delivered to your glass."
(from the bottle): "Barrel aged root beer is a traditional root beer turned upside down. Well, more like turned on its side and the aged in a medium-charred American Oak barrel. We're paying homage to the original soda fountains while elevating the process for the next Millenium. Share your vintage!"
Product details: 12 fl. oz. Oak Creek Barrel Aged Sodas. 150 calories, 41g sugar. Glass bottle with pry off top. www.oakcreekbarrelagedsodas.com
Ingredients: Water, sugar, natural & artificial flavor, caramel color, phosphoric acid, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate.
My thoughts: Oak Creek's sodas are what they call "barrel aged." I'm not sure what exactly barrel aging is supposed to do to a soda, but I imagine it's supposed to impart a woody flavor to the drink. *Or are barrels made of plastic and metal these days? I'm hoping for a woody, earthy drink and am very curious what I'll find: pure marketing hype or something new and interesting?
First off, the flavor is a little weaker than I usually like. Not terribly so, but the sensation that there could be a bit more rooty sassafras flavor was the first thought in my head. This was followed by me noticing a flavor profile that I couldn't place. Not being a drinker of other "barrel aged" beverages, perhaps this is the note that wooden barrels impart upon their contents. I like it, as it gives a subtle taste that sets it apart from the usual root beers. In a blind taste test I wouldn't note it as a wood flavor, but it does have a "natural" sort of inclination rather than the synthetic. The aftertaste is just a slow fade of the passable, but not entirely exceptional, root beer flavor. There's a very tiny hint of wintergreen and maybe a little anise.
Moving on, the carbonation is a little disappointing. It's ever so slightly on the flat side, though not too detrimentally so. This might just be because I prefer more aggressive carbonation, as others may find it perfectly serviceable. As such, it's fairly smooth to drink, but lacks a certain creaminess that the finer root beers possess. Sweetness-wise, I thought it seemed to leave a little more of a sugary coating than usual, so I was surprised to look at the nutrition facts and see that it actually has a little less sugar than the average. It's not cloyingly sweet and, like the carbonation, would likely not even register to the casual root beer drinker that it was any different than normal.
As I look at each individual trait, it seems like a fairly disappointing root beer. But somehow the parts add up to one that exceeds the sum of the parts. I liked it pretty well. Perhaps it's the illogical part of me that enjoyed the novelty of the "barrel aged" flavor that is imparted to it, causing me to forgive the shortcomings in other areas. Whatever it is, while I wouldn't heartily recommend this as a top choice, it's one that I would recommend trying and one I wouldn't mind revisiting again in the near future.
Note: after drinking the root beer I read the label which reveals that the root beer is "aged in a medium-charred American Oak barrel."
Rating: B
flavor: B
aftertaste: B-
sweetness: C
smoothness: C
carbonation: C-
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