This root beer gets its start back in 1937 when a fellow by the name of Deno Spaccarelli opened an apothecary in Cincinnati. In addition to prescriptions he made custom sodas at the fountain. Some 80 years later, the last Deno Apothecary closed, and his descendants decided to keep the family tradition alive by bottling three flavors of Apothecary Sodas, cream soda, black cherry, and this root beer. I have a hard time getting the proper name of this brew. As the bottle says “Apothecary Craft Soda” and “Root Naturals” while the website calls it “Apothecary Root Beer”. As you can see I went with a mix of website and label. I actually really like the label, with all of the plants and just shades of brown and black with old-timey fonts. It looks like some archaic apothecary scroll for some elixir of heath or something. This is also an all natural soda with no preservatives so I had to drink it quickly after I received it.
The Body is sweet and a little fruity with herbal and vanilla flavors. It’s got a mild Bite but isn’t overly smooth. The Head is nice and tall. It fizzes down a little quicker than I’d prefer but still fine. The Aftertaste is a fruity, herbal, and vanilla. The herbal isn’t the nasty bitter sort, so it’s okay.
This wasn’t really my favorite, but it isn’t bad. It does taste like something an apothecary would mix up from any a different herbs and roots and things. I wish it didn’t have that fruity tinge to it. Even so, it’s still a drinkable brew, just not top tier. See how it rates against other root beers.
Wow! I never knew my Grand Dad did this! Where can I purchase the sodas?
Jenny Spaccarelli
Indian Hill, OH
There’s a link in the review that takes you to their ordering page.