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’ve been chasing after this one for awhile now. I had learned about it from a Google Maps search of “brewery Seattle” and then calling all of the ones that showed up. The Pike Brewing Company said they had Skagit River Brewery Root Beer on tap. It wasn’t for another six months before I found myself near Pike Place doing some charge testing on a Chevy Volt. When I finished up I headed to the brewery to give the Skagit a try. Unfortunately, it wasn’t there. They’d stopped serving it a month before I came and replaced it with Crater Lake Root Beer on tap, ugh. Crater Lake is awful. I kept looking and eventually I heard the Root Beer Store had a keg of it. The owner warned me though, “I remember it being flat, tasteless, and like diet the last time I served it at an event. I hoped it would go good in ice cream. It didn’t. I took it out, and you are welcome to the pony keg. Its in my warehouse……drinker beware.” I reminded him that whether or not I like it is irrelevant, I need to try it to find out. I stopped by later that day and filled my growler, took it home and gave it a good chill before trying the next night.
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. 
