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

Ramblin' Butterscotch root beer

Background information: (from the Monarch website) "A quick history of Ramblin' Root Beer. Following its introduction in 1979 Ramblin' became one of the most popular root beers in America.

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 as well as the Ramblin' Maple root beer, I have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this one. Ramblin' has never been strong on the rootiness, with a thin, watery sensation to the root beer flavor. So we'll see if the tradition continues.

Whereas the Maple variation had a very strong scent to it, there is only a subtle hint of butterscotch to the smell of this one. I like butterscotch, so expect this to be good and it's... *UGGH!* It's terrible! The butterscotch tastes like chemicals. I can't quite identify what it is, but it's awful. There is a slight butterscotch taste to it, but it's overwhelmed by the chemical taste. Gross. The aftertaste isn't much better, but a hint of rooty sassafras taste comes through.

Like it's predecessors, sweetness is pretty good, but it's hard to get a great grasp on it as I can't get past the horrible taste. Carbonation is good, with small, moderately aggressive bubbles. I don't know how well that carbonation sticks around through the bottle as I couldn't get more than about a quarter of the way through this one. While it does have quillaia extract, it isn't as smooth or creamy as I would expect and continues the streak of disappointment with this drink.

I'm pretty sure I've finished all the bottles of root beer I've tested except for one or two. This one gets the great distinction of being added to the list. I would, under no circumstance, recommend this one. Major fail.


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

O-So Butterscotch root beer

Background information: (from the website) "Orca Beverage was created in the 1980s by owner Mike Bourgeois while he was studying a new and emerging class of beverages called the “New Age Beverage Category” at the Albers School of Business at Seattle University. This new and exciting extension of the larger Carbonated Soft Drink category was made up of products that were alternatives to the mainstream brands that dominated the industry."


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  O-So Delicious is a trademark of Orca Beverage Inc., Mukilteo, WA 98275 425-349-5655. 170 calories, 43g sugar.  Glass bottle with twist off top.  http://www.orcabeverage.com


Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Caramel Color, Vanilla Extract, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (a preservative).


My thoughts: Having reviewed the O-So Vanilla Butterscotch root beer about two and a half years ago, I can't exactly recall what it tasted like, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this "non-vanilla" butterscotch root beer is the same drink, minus the "vanilla" in the title. I'll skip looking at my review from then (so as to not influence the outcome of this one) and then go and compare this to the old review after composing my thoughts.

Now, as I was then then, I'm a fan of butterscotch root beers. On the butterscotch front, this doesn't disappoint. There is a very strong butterscotch component to this drink, with that flavor perhaps overwhelming the usual sassafras flavor that root beer is known for and leaving me wanting a bit more rootiness. I feel like the vanilla gets a bit outdone as well, but is still noticeable. After the initial flavor, which quickly fades, I'm left with predominately a lingering of the butterscotch taste, and nary a hint of sassafras. After some time, I feel that I can also detect a lingering hint of coolness that is normally a side effect of wintergreen, though I'm not noticing any sort of the flavor.

The drink feels excellently sweetened, tasting nice and sweet (butterscotch does benefit from a slightly candy-like sweetness), but without leaving a syrupy coating of sugar in my mouth. They seem to have struck just the right balance with this. In full disclosure on carbonation, I've had this bottle sitting around for quite a while, so perhaps the carbonation has decreased from when it was fresher (I don't know if carbonation decreasing is a thing as drinks sit unopened), but it's pretty flat. Not much fizz or bite to the carbonation. I can hear the bubbles, but don't really feel them. Smoothness is a mixed bag, as the lack of carbonation makes it fairly smooth, but it also lacks the punch to generate a creamy foam. I think some extra carbonation would go a long way to improving the consumption experience.

So, now I'll go look at my "vanilla butterscotch" review and see how they compare...

Seems like the flavor has stayed more or less the same, with a weaker root beer flavor than I generally like. Interestingly, my carbonation experience last time was vastly different than this go-around. Did I let my bottle sit too long? Did I get a bottle from a  badly carbonated batch this time? Was the last one from an exceptionally carbonated batch? It's hard to tell without going out and finding a third bottle to see which side of the equation it falls on. I'm going to err on the side of caution with my ratings and consider the carbonation and smoothness scores a little less than I normally would. At the end of the day, however, I think this is the same formula as the previously tested "vanilla butterscotch".


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

Dad-Gum-It! butterscotch root beer

Background information: You know what? I couldn't find anything about this root beer on the internet other than a couple other reviews. Perhaps, in a bid to be authentic, this root beer is like the stereotypical shotgun toting redneck and comes out of a double wide trailer in a swamp where they have no internet. Whatever it is, there isn't any info about this on the Rocket Fizz site either, even though they produce it.


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Bottled by the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shops, LLC. PO Box 3663, Camarillo, CA 93011. 170 calories, 42g sugar.  Glass bottle with twist off top.  http://www.rocketfizz.com


Ingredients: Spring water, cane sugar, citric acid, caramel color, gum acacia & natural flavors.


My thoughts: I do like my butterscotch, so how does it mesh with this root beer? Well, unlike the camouflaged, gun toting redneck on the bottle, the butterscotch is very subtle. In fact, if the bottle hadn't said "butterscotch" on it, I may never have guessed it was an attribute. The root beer factor is mediocre, with a moderately rooty flavor that quickly feels a bit thin. The aftertaste has some minty wintergreen to it with a very very slight hint of butterscotch, which I find an odd combination. Part way through the bottle, I felt like perhaps there was just a little bit of black licorice showing through, but extremely subtle.

Maybe it's just the lack of sassafras punch, but the sugar content seems to play just slightly too much of a role, as it's a pinch too sweet for the amount of flavor. It's still pretty decent, but worth noting. Carbonation is nice, with a bit of bite, though the last third of the bottle started to feel weak. It also didn't feel particularly creamy or smooth and could have used a little more froth.

Well, the redneck lifestyle has never particularly appealed to me and neither does this root beer. Really, I feel the same way about both: indifferent. The butterscotch failed to elevate this decidedly mediocre root beer and it had no particularly outstanding traits. There are much better options out there.


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

O-So Vanilla Butterscotch root beer

Background information: (from the website): "Orca Beverage was created in the 1980s by owner Mike Bourgeois while he was studying a new and emerging class of beverages called the “New Age Beverage Category” at the Albers School of Business at Seattle University. This new and exciting extension of the larger Carbonated Soft Drink category was made up of products that were alternatives to the mainstream brands that dominated the industry."


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Orca Beverage Inc., Mukilteo, WA 98275, 425 349 5655.  170 calories, 43g sugar. Glass bottle with twist off top.  http://www.orcabeverage.com


Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Caramel Color, Vanilla Extract, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (a preservative).


My thoughts: I gotta say, I do like my butterscotch root beers and O-So is no exception.  It all starts with a moderate rooty taste.  There isn't a whole lot of complexity as far as the root beer flavor is concerned, seeming about average, if a bit thin.  But the aftertaste, oh the aftertaste!  That is a divine flavor!  The butterscotch has just the right amount of kick to it, with a thick, strong flavor.

With such a strong aftertaste, I would have thought it would leave a syrupy coating in my mouth, but was pleasantly surprised that not only was it not too sugary, but that the flavor dissipated just enough, leaving behind just a hint of the buttery goodness.  The carbonation is nice and strong, with a pleasing bite.  Typically, having bite to the carbonation negatively impacts the smoothness, but the rich butterscotch flavor lent a feeling of creaminess to the drink.

I debated an overall score of "B+", but the initial flavor was just a bit too weak to justify the "+".  As far as all the other attributes go, O-So is doing it right.  If they would just kick up their initial root beer flavor a notch or two, then this would certainly be in grade A territory.


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

dougieDog butterscotch root beer

Background information: (from the website) "At dougieDOG, we celebrate the hot dog culture by offering all-natural dogs, free of hormones, preservatives and chemical additives. Try one of our signature all-natural dougieDOGS with a side of homemade mac ‘n cheese, chili, yam fries, bacon chili cheese fries, and our very own special poutine.

Housing Vancouver’s largest selection of root beer, including our exclusive dougieDOG Butterscotch Root Beer, our staff will help pair your dougieDOG with the perfect frosty brew. From our selection of over 25 unique toppings down to our homemade sides, everything on the menu is made in-house and served hot and fresh to order."


Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Distributed by Sea-Van Distributors, North Vancouver, BC V7J 1H3.  160 calories, 41g sugar.  Glass bottle with twist off top.  www.dougiedog.com MFG DATE 091212


Ingredients: Carbonated water, cane sugar, natural & artificial flavors, caramel color, citric acid, xanthan gum, sodium benzoate (a preservative).


My thoughts: Mmmmm, this one smells of butterscotch.  This is a far superior flavor experience to my last butterscotch root beer encounter (the considerably inaccurately named Dang! That's Good).  First off, there is a pleasantly strong root beer kick, with just a hint of butterscotch and I believe some vanilla.  As this initial flavor rolls off the tongue, there is a nice lingering aftertaste of butterscotch; not too strong, but certainly palpable.  Carbonation is superb, with a nice sparkly feeling that stops just short of feeling prickly.  The mix of flavors gives it a creamy sensation, but the sugar levels feel slightly too high, meriting an average score.  I really ended up liking this root beer and appreciate the slight flavor variation from my normal 'non-butterscotch' taste testing.

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