I had the most unique opportunity to get a hold of this brew before it came to market. The fine people of Capone Family Secret told me that they wanted me to try a salted caramel root beer that they will start selling in World Market in 2014. Interestingly they’re doing it under a new beverage line, Cicero Beverage Company. I have no idea why. You’d think that an already successful brand like Capone’s Family Secret could incorporate a salted caramel root beer. That is, unless, their story on the label about it being found in Al Capone’s warehouses was true and they really didn’t want to upset his legacy. Either way who am I to complain about new root beer, well complain too much. It arrived in what must be the best way to ship soda EVER, a treasure chest containing two burlap sack wrapped bottles. They had to one up themselves from their Capone delivery evidently. Cicero’s theme is Chicago style sodas with a picture of the city with a river flowing through the middle. For this flavor the river is caramel being poured in the top and then leaking out of the bottom of the picture.
The Body has a rich caramel flavor accompanying the traditional root beer flavors. It’s a little salty but not too much. Bite is mostly from carbonation and has a smooth finish. The Head is medium-short but is very frothy and lingers long enough to be adequate. The Aftertaste is a luscious salted caramel flavor that lasts just the right amount of time.
Wow! I love a caramel flavor in my root beer and this takes it to a new level without overpowering what a root beer should taste like. Striking the perfect balance with a flavored root beer such as this is difficult, as is evidenced from all of the butterscotch brews I’ve had, but they’ve nailed it perfectly. See how it rates against other root beers.
I ordered this online a few years back as part of a variety pack. I can’t remember the circumstances very well, probably just another pack of 12 bottles and 4 varieties while I was an undergrad at BYU. I chose it for no particular reason, there were lots of brews back then that I needed. I’d always try to grab at least one that I though would be good and one I thought looked terrible and then ones that were cheap, with this being one of the cheap ones. The bottle is pretty simple but does have a nice label. It is actually produced by White Rock Beverages, one of America’s oldest beverage companies from 1871 or something. It’s also Kosher which is actually pretty easy to achieve with a soda but important if you’re in a place like New York with a large Jewish population. 
I’d like to start by saying that this is not my root beer. True, I am Eric. Yes, I’m pretty famous and if I made a root beer it would no doubt reach new levels of root beer fame. But, this isn’t my root beer. This is made by some other Eric whose original drink seemed to be Eric’s Famous Cola, some energy drink cola thing. Keeping along those same lines he expanded to Eric’s Energy Company and made a root beer with lots of caffeine, guarana, kola nut, and other “quality” ingredients seldom found in root beer. And it’s microbrewed evidently. The label has a nice metallic shine but other than that and sharing a name with a famous root beer connoisseur, it actually is pretty frightening to me. Mostly because energy drink root beers are seldom pleasant. This one lives up to the expectations brilliantly.
