Root Naturals Apothecary root beer

Background information: (from the website): "The year was 1937, the country was in the midst of the Great Depression and the entire City of Cincinnati was flooded as the Spring waters jumped the banks of the Ohio river. It was in this bleak setting that a young Deno Spaccarelli (pictured below!), perhaps acting on the challenge of President Roosevelt that there was “nothing to fear but fear itself” decided to open his first apothecary on Erie Avenue in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Cincinnati. It was here that he would compound custom prescriptions in the pharmacy and custom sodas at the fountain. And that is where our story begins. Eight decades later when the last Deno Apothecary was closed and the books were settled, we set out to keep the family tradition alive by bottling our apothecary sodas for all the world to taste."

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Root Naturals, 9891 Montgomery Road #115, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242. 160 calories, 42g sugar. Glass bottle with twist off top. www.rootbeverage.com

Ingredients: Triple filtered carbonated water, cane sugar, botanical extract blend, natural flavor, caramelized cane sugar.


My thoughts: I like the marketing on the label for the "botanical extract blend" and calling it an "apothecary craft soda," as this brings to my mind rich, complex flavors that go beyond the basic rooty sassafras, vanilla, and wintergreen combo that so many employ. I'm hoping they mix things up with a few more of the lesser used spices, so we'll see if they deliver or not.

This has a strong, rooty sassafras flavor that has good flavor. There are hints of vanilla and wintergreen, though this one keeps the wintergreen a bit tamer, which I appreciate, not letting it dominate the taste. I feel like there are some other more subtle spices at work, but I'm not quite sure what they are. All I can say is that they lend a bit of a more sophisticated flavor profile than your usual root beer. The aftertaste is mostly a continuation of these flavors, though maybe I detect a hint of anise/black licorice? Maybe I'm imagining things as I search for the hidden flavors, but I would not be at all surprised to find out this is on the list of flavors they sparingly use.

It's a shame that a good flavor like this is paired with such a weak carbonation. It's a pretty flat root beer with only a smattering of bubbles, which shifts into almost entire flatness about 2/3rds of the way into the bottle. It's very disappointing. Sweetness is just about perfect, with a very minimal sugary feeling being left behind relative to other sodas. The flatness makes it pretty smooth to drink, but it doesn't have any of that frothy creaminess that make for a top tier soda. And anyway, having carbonation is kind of a key component to this aspect.

I like what they are doing with the flavor, but the root beer experience is really shattered by the incredibly weak carbonation. Fix the carbonation problem and this becomes a much better root beer, but in its current state, it's not something I'd seek out again.

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

Oak Creek Blonde root beer

Background information: (from the website) "Through a decade long journey, the team of Master Soda Craftsmen at OAK CREEK cultivated a unique process in which traditional sodas can be delivered in multiple varietals through time honored barrel aging techniques. This passion project was inspired and influenced by the rise of the barrel aged culture of wine, beer, and spirits. For the soda connoisseur with an eye for innovation and a thirst for a unique drinking experience, OAK CREEK Barrel Aged Sodas represent the next evolution of craft soda.

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!"

I noticed on this most recent bottle that it shows it's being made by the Sprecher Brewing Co. I'm not sure if they bought out Oak Creek or are just a manufacturer for Oak Creek now. No mention was made of Sprecher when I reviewed the regular Oak Creek root beer last year. The Blonde bottle I'm reviewing here, however, lists Sprecher as the manufacturer on the label as well as Sprecher's website instead of the www.oakcreekbarrelagedsodas.com site that was on the non-blonde label.

The Oak Creek website is loading very, very slowly as of this writing (I thought it was non-funtional at first, but after a minute or two finally loaded - though with some broken headers/images). In spite of the bottle pointing you to the Sprecher site, they make no mention of this root beer that I could find.

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Sprecher Brewing Co. Glendale, WI 53209. 150 calories, 41g sugar. Glass bottle with pry off top. www.sprecherbrewery.com

Ingredients: Carbonated water, sugar, brown sugar, natural and artificial flavor, caramel color, phosphoric acid, sodium benzoate (as a preservative), potassium sorbate.


My thoughts: This is my second encounter with Oak Creek recently, with their last "regular" (non-blonde) root beer failing to impress. This one offers something a little different, however, with the label claiming "25% brown sugar/75% real sugar." I do like a well done, brown sugar sweetened root beer, so let's see if this gentleman [points to self with both thumbs] prefers blondes.

Much like its non-blonde counterpart, the flavor is a bit weaker than I usually like. Not too terribly so, but I wouldn't mind a slight boost in the sassafras strength. Still mirroring the other root beer offering, it has an interesting flavor profile. Maybe it's just the "barrel aged" moniker putting it into my mind, but it does have a slight woody hint to it, reminding me of the sensation of when I eat a popsicle and my tongue licks the wooden stick. I think I like it, though. It's certainly different. The aftertaste doesn't seem to have the wintergreen or anise I was sensing from the non-blonde version, as the "woody" sensation becomes a little more prominent as the fairly basic rooty flavor fades away. I will say, this root beer does make me take more of a pause (in a good way) to experience the taste profile, as there's something going on that I'm not used to and can't quite figure out what it is. Perhaps it's the vanilla and brown sugar coming together at the end.

The carbonation in this blonde version is pretty decent. It's not super aggressive, with a smaller bubble profile, but it seems to hold pretty consistent through the whole bottle. It doesn't have a foam or froth, so misses out on some of the finer creaminess points, coming in about average feeling. Interestingly, the brown sugar mix doesn't seem to add a ton to the flavor, but as noted above it might be adding a little flavor profile rather than beating me over the head with that taste. When it comes to the sweetness, I think it's dialed in fairly well, sweet, but not too cloyingly syrupy.

This one is a tough one to rate. It has a lighter flavor than I usually care for, but there are some really interesting flavors going on underneath that I think benefit from not being overwhelmed by a super strong sassafras flavor. With the different approach here, I think this is a root beer all aficionados should try, even if I hesitate to call it one of the best. This is definitely one I'll need to circle back to and try again.

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

Otto's root beer

Background information: Otto's is a brewery and distillery that makes both sodas and alcoholic beverages. The site doesn't really have any background information.

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Brewed and Bottled by Otto's Pub and Brewery, State College, PA. 180 calories, 45g sugar. Glass bottle with pry off top. www.ottospubandbrewery.com

Ingredients: Carbonated water, cane sugar, dark brown sugar, caramel color, gum arabic, natural and artificial flavors, phosphoric acid, citric acid, sodium benzoate, yucca extract, vanillin, and ethyl vanillin.


My thoughts: Despite being a little creeped out by the Otto's mascot's mustache, I'm hoping that their pub and brewery expertise is better than their graphic design sensibilities. Just know that the creepy little guy kept staring at me as I drank the root beer. Sure, he's toasting some sort of festivities, but behind those beady eyes is the mind of a deranged serial killer, I'm sure of it.

As far as root beers go, this one knows exactly what it is. There's a very strong root beer sassafras flavor. It's bold and good. Too often root beers are like, "I think I might want to be a root beer, but I'm not sure...so I'm just going to kind of do the flavor." Not here. Underneath the initial rooty flavor, I like what the brown sugar is doing. It's not as strong as some of the other brown sugar ones I've had, but I think the balance and slightly subtle molasses and vanilla/caramel taste is spot on. The aftertaste reveals a pleasant cooling wintergreen mint effect, with not too much mint flavor. Again, I like it when it doesn't feel like toothpaste minty, which this one happily avoids. I'll save that strong mint for when I'm brushing my teeth. probably my only knock against it is that it plays it a bit safe with the formula rather than trying anything super interesting with the spices. But sometimes I just want a solid root beer that's not trying to be too fancy.

Right out the gate, this isn't one of the aggressively carbonated root beers, but has a crisp, bubbly feel to it that only slightly prickles the tongue. This really comes down to personal preference, where I prefer the large bubbles of carbonation that attack my tongue, but this one is pretty dang good. I never felt like it was too flat. Sweetness is great, if not ever so slightly on the sugary side. I think this has to do with brown sugar feeling a bit thicker, but it's a tradeoff I'm more than happy to make. Finally, Otto's does have a creamy sensation, helped a bit by the vanilla flavor I'm sure, but it went down nice and smooth. Again, not a top-tier performer for creaminess, but much better than your average root beer.

Despite Otto being a complete creep, I just turned the bottle around so he faced away and couldn't stare at me with those eyes while I enjoyed the root beer. This one does a lot of things right and I would gladly recommend giving it a try.

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

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-

Root Jack Orange Flavored root beer

Background information: (from the website) "Welcome to the Interport home of RootJack, the Pirate's most delicious alternative to the bane that is known as Scurvy!

Rest ye squiffy boots and hear the tale of Cap'n Astrea Valentine and her magical elixir what kept the crew healthy and n'er put one foot in the locker.

Rootjack will not only balance out yer four humors, you'll step lively and spot futher than ye even thought possible. Thar's power in this draught.

RootJack's a tasty Root Beer with a hint of Orange flavor and Vanilla, Guarana to liven yer step, and a full daily dose of Vitamin C to keep scurvy in check.."

(from the bottle) "A tasty Root Beer with a hint of Orange flavor, Guarana to liven yer step, and Vitamin C to keep scurvy in check."

(note about website info): while the website ingredients show "high fructose corn syrup" and also proclaims that no preservatives are used, the actual bottle label lists "sugar" as an ingredient as well as "Potassium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate (preserves freshness)," which are both preservatives, so I suspect the web info must be out of date.

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Manufactured for VooDoo Elixers, Inc, Mishawaka, IN. 190 calories, 47g sugar. 100% Daily Recommended Value of Vitamin C. 120mg Caffeine. Glass bottle with twist off top. www.rootjack.com (root beer site) www.PVKII.com (tie in with a video game). Not recommended for children, pregnant women or those sensitive to caffeine. 

Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Sugar, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Citric Acid, Quillaja, Xanthan Gum, Ascorbic Acid, Caffeine, Potassium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate (preserve freshness), Potassium Citrate, Caramel Color, Guarana Seed Extract, Calcium Disodium EDTA.


My thoughts: Yarrrrr! What be this draught of root beer? When me pirate crew needs a kick in the seat o' them britches, an energy drink they demand! Will this elixir ward off the scurvy, or tis it fit only fer them lily-livered landlubbers? We shall see if this earns its spot on me crew, or gets sent straight to the plank.

What an interesting concoction they have made. I can certainly taste the orange and there's some root beer flavor to it as well, but there's a good reason the two flavors are not typically mixed. While not awful, I don't think they are very complimentary flavors (and I really like orange vanilla coke, so I'm okay mixing orange with other flavors). Perhaps the problem lies not in the mixing, but in the base root beer taste. The drink has one of those slightly sour hints at first and I'm not a fan of the sour root beers. That sourness lingers around as the aftertaste leaves a very basic root beer taste that clashes with the orange. The aftertaste texture isn't too bad, as the taste fades away to a creamy, slightly vanilla, sensation.

When I think of pirates, I think of the high energy attacks on their enemies, with pirates swinging to and fro, leaping from banister to banister. Well, unfortunately the carbonation reminds me more of when they're in the middle of a large, empty ocean with the bright noon-day sun overhead, as the crew lounges around in the few spots of shade, the ship slowly lolling over gentle waves, rocking everyone to a lazy slumber. More directly to the point, the carbonation is weak, offering very little pizazz. In hand with this, there isn't enough carbonation to create a froth or creaminess to the drink, though there are hints of creaminess as part of the aftertaste, likely due to the quillaja in it. Not only does it betray me with little carbonation, but I'm left with a slightly filmier sugar feel in my mouth, with a touch too much sugar for my taste.

Shiver me timbers, this here root beer is goin' to walk the plank. It's got no sea legs and has no place on any self-respecting pirate ship, other than to ward off the scurvy. Alas, I be sending this one down to Davy Jones's locker. 

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

Batch brown sugar root beer

Background information: (from the website) "We feel that when you have a carbonated soft drink, it should be uncommonly good. A sweet and sticky corn syrup soda may not be a necessity, but it can be pleasurable. Make that experience all the more pleasurable with Batch Craft Soda.

Batch Craft Soda has been concocted to be just that: an exceptional beverage in every way. Our expert amalgamators blend only the finest ingredients to create a truly outstanding libation. Weights, measures, temperatures, rest times, and even the order in which the ingredients are added were carefully tried and tested. Efforts to create the perfect recipe took batch after batch."

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  No company address info on the bottle. 174 calories, 45g sugar. Glass bottle with twist off top. www.batchcraftsoda.com

Ingredients: Purified Sparkling Water, Pure Cane Sugar, Caramelized Unrefined Cane Sugar, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Spices, Yucca Extract. No Caffeine.


My thoughts: Brown sugar? Color me intrigued. I think this might be the first root beer I've tried that uses it as a sweetener. The question is, will it actually do anything to the flavor or is it more of a gimmick? We shall see.

This is one of the more interesting flavored root beers I've had in a while. It's definitely a root beer, but it's doing something a bit different with the flavors. There is the usual rooty flavor, but something in it gives me a slight souring impression. I generally don't care for the souring sensation of some past root beers, but this one is subtle enough I don't mind it too much (note: the souring reminds me of the souring process of dairy, not of sour candies). The brown sugar turns out to be a very welcome addition. I like the flavor it imparts, giving this root beer a little more flavor texture to the sweetness. There is the usual vanilla in there as well, perhaps a bit of cinnamon. The aftertaste is dominated by the brown sugar, which I enjoy. I don't necessarily taste any wintergreen, but there is a soft minty, cooling sensation.

Carbonation is mediocre. The bubbles are not particularly spirited and it comes off a tiny bit flat. It at least maintains this lower level of carbonation as I drink the entire bottle rather than vanishing completely, as many of the weaker ones usually do. There is a decent smoothness to it, helped in part by the lackluster effervescence, but not necessarily creamy, as that requires enough carbonation to form a froth. As for sweetness, I touched on it already, but I really like what the brown sugar is doing here. Perhaps it's just the novelty, but it adds a different feel to the sweetness that I welcome. Overall sweetness levels seem about average, with a bit of the expected sugary feeling one gets from sugar-based sodas.

There are a few things this does right, and a few not so much. I don't know what causes the souring sensation in some of these root beers, but I'm not a fan, even when it's more subtle. The carbonation is not impressive at all and could use a good kick in the pants. But I do like the mixture of spices they're using to flavor this one and think the brown sugar is a really nice touch. 

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