Oct 172012
 

Just look at that root beer. What class! A tall 22 oz wine bottle sealed with red wax. It is small batch brewed and you can only buy it in the Hamptons. Of course such a fancy and high class bottle, with a name like Miss Lady, features an elegant woman clad in a flowing white lace dress holding a parasol, right? Wrong! You’d think that’s what it’d have, but as you can see it’s an old wrinkly dog there instead. Really? A dog? I mean, you went to all of that work and then put a dog on your label, like so many others have? And not even a snooty rich people dog like a poodle but a wrinkly pug? I must say that I’m disappointed. Other than the label picture though, this is pretty cool. They even hand write what bottle number you purchase (I got 315 and 316 in case you were wondering) so this is a really exclusive brew. It’s all natural as well. All of that coolness doesn’t come cheap though, it’ll cost you $6 a bottle and that’s before shipping. Or you can go to some farmers markets in the Hamptons (you do have a summer home there, right?) and skip the shipping. I must say that I was excited to try this, as well as a little concerned, since I like to always recap the empty bottle and make it look as close to as it was before I opened it. The whole wax seal presented a new and unique challenge. As you can see though, I didn’t do half bad.

This has a very light Body with mild honey and sarsaparilla flavors. There’s the slightest hint of licorice as well but really the whole thing is very subtle. It isn’t overly sweet either. It reminds me of an herb tea sweetened with a little honey. There is a small Bite that’s a little prickly, but it isn’t very strong. the Head is nothing special. There’s nothing on the way of spice burn either. The Aftertaste is honey and anise that doesn’t linger very long.

So another herb tea root beer eh? It’s not the first one I’ve had from New York, nor the best I might add. What is it with them over there? Maybe such light, refreshing, herbal brews are more common in that region than I know. It isn’t bad, and I do enjoy drinking it if it were called something else. It has a lot of the right flavors but not a lot of them, sadly. A cold carbonated herb tea is not what I would reach for when I want a root beer. See how it rates against other root beers.




Jul 252012
 

Another one for the dogs it seems. But this isn’t just any dog themed root beer. No, they’ve named their company after their dog Margo (and her bark), and all of the profits from this root beer go to shelter dogs. Who couldn’t like that, unless you don’t like dogs. You know, those people who growing up didn’t have a dog, and the neighbors’ dogs were mean and scared them when they were small and other dogs chased them until their dads taught them that the best way to escape a chasing dog is to charge it as if they had a rock or a stick because they’re bigger than the dogs and the dogs smell fear. So they’ve pretty much had a fight or flight relationship with these animals their entire lives and they have this complex because society tells them that they should be nice to dogs but their personal experience leads them to believe otherwise … I’m sure you know tons of people like this right, there are loads of them. Well anyways, those people might be a bit ambivalent towards the theme here but everyone else would like it and not judge those others because they don’t know what it’s like to be chased by big mean dogs on a daily basis.

This has a rich and complex Body. There is a strong molasses flavor complemented by wintergreen, vanilla, and spices. It has a smooth and creamy texture. The Bite is pretty mild despite the trademarked tagline “Drink a bite!” on the bottle. It is there, some clove and cassia spicing things a bit. The Head is medium height and froth, sufficient but nothing special. The Aftertaste is the best part of this in my opinion. The molasses flavor is presented but much more toned down allowing the spiced vanilla and wintergreen to stand out with vanilla the final flavor left on the palate.

So, it’s close. At first I didn’t like it much but the more I drank the more it grew on me. I’m not a big fan of these stout type brews, but this is also pretty creamy. I found that when I just took little sips I enjoyed it the most. I ultimately couldn’t give it the Seal. I should be able to quaff a Seal of Approval brew and still love it, which I can’t do with this. If you like the darker flavored root beers though, this is one for you. See how it rates against other root beers.




Apr 252012
 

So the fine people at beveragesdirect.com brought to my attention that there were several fine brews that they sell that I hadn’t reviewed, including III Dachshunds,which just so happens to be the root beer analogue of Dos Equis (Two ‘X’s in Spanish, you know 2 ‘x’s, 3 Dachshunds, it totally makes sense). They sell a lot of it to one man in particular. He travels around the world, so more people have the opportunity to meet him. He gives motivational speeches, just by looking in your direction. He once said something stupid, just to see what it was like. He’s, the Second Most Interesting Man in the World (almost as cool as the Most Interesting Man). He doesn’t always drink root beer, but when he does, he prefers III Dachshunds. Of course when I heard this I immediately made arrangements to procure all of the necessary brews. So why does he prefer it?

Because it has an amazingly sweet and creamy Body. It has the right flavors, sassafras, caramel, vanilla, and hints of wintergreen. There’s a pretty good Bite from carbonation and spices as well, but it is still very smooth going down. The Head, unfortunately, is barely an inch tall. It is however very frothy so it lasts several minutes. The Aftertaste is creamy vanilla with accents of wintergreen.

This is a delicious brew. I understand why the Second Most Interesting Man in the World prefers it. Probably the next time I’m out deep sea fishing, safariing, white water kayaking, or otherwise adventuring in the second most interesting way possible, I’ll have this at my side, at least some of the time. Sayth the bottle, “Time for a Treat” Indeed. I’ll take two if you please. See how it rates against other root beers.