This is an extremely elusive brew. In fact, the company’s own website doesn’t even acknowledge it’s existence. Yet the signs are out there if you really look. If you search for this you can find some reviews and some cases for sale (at like $100 a case after shipping) such that it almost seems like it’s been discontinued. But it hadn’t. I searched far and wide to find just a few bottles. I even found a shop in Canada selling other Boylan’s Natural flavors but not the root beer for some reason (because the universe hates me sometimes). Finally, the great sage of sassafras gifted me two bottles out of his abundant beneficence. Strangely, unlike their regular root beer, which is just labeled as “Boylan” this is “Boylan’s” because forget logic and consistency.
The Body full of rich rooty flavors that are almost herbal. There’s some nice bourbon vanilla and spice in there as well to keep it from being too dark. The Bite is excellent with cinnamon the prominent spice. It’s strong enough to grab you, but not harshly. The Head is tallish with medium staying power; adequate. The Aftertaste is a lovely bourbon vanilla and cinnamon.
I’m impressed, I didn’t really think that their normal root beer was anything special but this has a lovely complexity of root beer goodness. Dare I say, this is the only time I’ve encountered a natural version that’s better than the regular version. Dear people at Boylan Bottling Works, stop hiding this from the world! See how it rates against other root beers.
This is produced by the Boylan Bottling Company (I know big surprise) and has been around since 1891. It’s actually one of the more common brands of gourmet root beer. I’ve found it all across the nation and even in Canada. Yet, when I first got this over a decade ago, I mail ordered it in a variety pack. I probably should have just waited until I found it in my many travels, but you never know what you are going to run across before you buy it. Their website says that they let their sodas speak for themselves with “no hype, no marketing gimmicks.” So you’d forgive me for never knowing they were a commonly available until age and miles verified the fact. And to think, some of the others I passed up that day are long gone and I’ll never get a chance to try them … The bottle is kind of unique and with the painted logo rather old fashioned. For some reason it says Boylan Bottleworks on the bottle whereas the website calls themselves the Boylan Bottling Company. I’m not sure why they do that. There is no explanation anywhere. Even Wikipedia says that it was called the Boylan Bottling Company since its founding. So I’m at a loss. 
