Twisted Root Burger Co. root beer

Background information: (from the website) "With high-quality made-to-order burgers, a ‘come as you are’ environment and a strange reverence for Chuck Norris, there’s no place else quite like Twisted Root. Way back before ‘gourmet burgers’ was a thing, Chefs Jason Boso & Quincy Hart decided to build a restaurant around half-pound, fresh ground burgers with a menu that allowed customers to build their own burgers with a list of crazy and inventive toppings. The two met in culinary school, after jobs in stock brokerages and telephone line repair. After paying their dues working the line at The Four Seasons & Pappas Bros, Jason & Quincy finally opened Twisted Root Burger Co. in the Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas, Texas in 2006. Twisted Root appeared on the second season of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri (2009) and suddenly Twisted Root was a dining destination in Dallas. While Twisted Root Burger Co. has seen incredible growth, Jason & Quincy have stuck to their roots and their senses of humor, using a hands-on approach to high-quality, fresh food in an casual atmosphere with tons of personality."

Product details: Fountain drink. Dallas, TX. https://twistedrootburgerco.com/

Ingredients: n/a


My thoughts: I don't usually test fountain drinks, but since this isn't available any other way and I've lately run low on new root beers, I figured it was time to branch out. Unlike their banana cream pie version, this is dominated by a sickly sour, fruity taste, though there is a decent rooty sassafras flavor. There might be a faint hint of mintiness, but it's hard to tell (disclaimer: I tried this root beer after eating my burger, which had a very strong garlic sauce, so my taste buds aren't quite as attuned as when I normally test the root beers). Aftertaste is a bit watery and thin.

Having come out of the same spigot as their banana cream pie root beer, I was unsurprised to find the carbonation equally disappointing, with a major lack of effervescence. I don't care for the level of sweetness, perhaps the sickly sweet flavor lending the overall sweetness a feeling of being overbearing. There is no real creaminess to speak of, in spite of it being a banana *cream* variation.

I should have stuck with their banana cream pie flavor they were offering at the time, as it was a far superior root beer experience, even if that one wasn't stellar by any means. The poor carbonation, bad flavor, and unappealing sweetness all combine to make this a root beer I never need to try again. But if you ever find yourself in the area, it's well worth stopping in for their delicious burgers!

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

Twisted Root Burger Co. Banana Cream Pie root beer

 

Background information: (from the website) "With high-quality made-to-order burgers, a ‘come as you are’ environment and a strange reverence for Chuck Norris, there’s no place else quite like Twisted Root. Way back before ‘gourmet burgers’ was a thing, Chefs Jason Boso & Quincy Hart decided to build a restaurant around half-pound, fresh ground burgers with a menu that allowed customers to build their own burgers with a list of crazy and inventive toppings. The two met in culinary school, after jobs in stock brokerages and telephone line repair. After paying their dues working the line at The Four Seasons & Pappas Bros, Jason & Quincy finally opened Twisted Root Burger Co. in the Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas, Texas in 2006. Twisted Root appeared on the second season of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri (2009) and suddenly Twisted Root was a dining destination in Dallas. While Twisted Root Burger Co. has seen incredible growth, Jason & Quincy have stuck to their roots and their senses of humor, using a hands-on approach to high-quality, fresh food in an casual atmosphere with tons of personality."

Product details: Fountain drink. Dallas, TX. https://twistedrootburgerco.com/

Ingredients: n/a


My thoughts: I'm typically not a fan of banana flavor, so I was surprised to find that I liked this one. While their regular root beer was dominated by a sickly sour, fruity taste, this suffers no such fate. The rooty sassafras isn't quite as strong, but still present, but the interesting flavor is the banana cream. The banana does remind me a little of the banana Runts candy taste, but surprisingly it mixes well with root beer. There might be a faint hint of mintiness, but it's hard to tell (disclaimer: I tried this root beer after eating my burger, which had a very strong garlic sauce, so my taste buds aren't quite as attuned as when I normally test the root beers). Aftertaste is a bit watery and thin, mostly highlighting the banana cream.

Having come out of the same spigot as their regular root beer, I was unsurprised to find the carbonation equally disappointing, with a major lack of effervescence. Unlike the regular root beer, I found that with the lack of the sickly sour sweetness, this offers a pleasant level of sweetness. I thought perhaps the banana cream would make it too much, but the lack of a syrupy coating left me with a positive impression. There is no real creaminess to speak of, in spite of it being a banana *cream* variation.

I'm glad I gave this flavor a try after my meal, as it's a superior offering over the regular root beer. The lack of carbonation really holds this back from being a better drink, however.

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