You can’t really mention Faygo without mentioning the Insane Clown Posse and their … fans, the Juggalos. Why? Because a love of Faygo is one of their defining characteristics, though they’d just as soon spray it on themselves and each other as they would drink it. Don’t ask why, they’re the Insane Clown Posse and Juggalos, logic and reason can’t be applied. This is also the reason my sister bought me a 6-pack of this about five years back for Christmas, because she thought those Juggalos were “hilarious” and wanted to see if the brew they were drinking/spraying was any good. Which I must say is the best thing for anyone to do when confronted by a new gourmet root beer, send it to me first, I’ll tell you if drinking said brew is worth it.
A rich, full Body is the highlight of this brew. It is crisp and creamy without a single unpleasant flavor. Then surfaces a little Bite with hints of wintergreen which stays largely on the smooth side. The Head is average, but fizzes away quickly so as to be rather disappointing. It doesn’t go flat however. The Aftertaste is a wonderful creamy minty flavor that lingers but not too long. This is a good one.
So pretty yummy. I liked it then, I still like it now. I wish the Head was better but it’s good enough. Now I’m actually depressed. Those Juggalos are out there spraying their Faygo and wasting a quality soda, the root beer anyways. Maybe I should go to one of those concerts and carry a funnel so I can save as much of it as possible to enjoy later. Probably not though. See how it rates against other root beers.
This root beer comes from Michigan where they have a Bavarian themed inn for some reason. Not that they need a reason other than being a gimmick, it’s a clever marketing ploy. Leavenworth, WA near where I grew up, has been playing that angle for awhile now and they’re doing just fine. Unlike Leavenworth, however, they make their own root beer, which means that technically they are cooler. I had the hardest time getting this brew. When I ordered it I watched the UPS tracking all the way until it got to Bellevue where the status was updated that it had been destroyed. Huh. So the company sent me another shipment with twice as many bottles. This one made it to me but three of the four had leaked on transit. I don’t know if they were freezing in transit or if UPS likes to practice field goals with their packages but only 1/6 bottles delivered undamaged is pretty dismal. The others were still sealed so I figured I’d still drink the one that had lost the least amount.
I’m not sure who Esteban is, or why Oogave decided to make it his root beer. He even stamped it with Esteban’s Seal of Approval, which would be like me making “Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer” and then stamping it with my Seal of Approval, that is to say redundant. I’d hope that the mere fact that Esteban put his name on the bottle implied he already approved, though they could have just liked Esteban and named the brew after him before he ever tried it. Who knows. The bottle says that they’re the original agave soda, which I can’t argue with since they’re the first wholely-sweetened-by-agave nectar soda I’ve ever seen. For those that don’t know, agave is a succulent plant that grows in the Southwest US and into Central America, the sap of which is used to make tequila. So they clearly figured that a virgin tequila soda was in order. It’s also certified organic, for those of you who care about such things.
