A few weeks ago I was back in Montreal, doing the businessy things I’m wont to do on such trips and thinking about root beer when the daily work is done. In addition to my internet searching, I asked the locals, and by that I mean this guy (BFTAG) in my guild (relic) in the mobile game I play (Summoner’s War). His first reply was along the line of “What’s racinette?”, which, sadly, was a response I got way too much over there. Like, racinette is literally the French Canadian word for root beer and it’s written on every bottle of it. Yet, nearly every place I’d ask, including the A&W, I’d get this blank stare from people. Anyhow, when I told BFTAG about root beer he had no idea, but some intense googling revealed Chez Tousignant, a burger place with a bottled house root beer. I told him and he said he loves that place and if I were to go, to ping him on game chat and he’d meet me there. And a couple days into the trip, I did just that. And found myself in a nice little burger, hot dog, and poutine joint being greeted by the Frenchyiest (Quebeciest?) French Canadian imaginable. So we got some amazing Tousingant burgers and dogs and grabbed some brews. Tousignant has about 6 flavors of house soda, which are custom bottled just for them. My guildie was surprised that I had a cream soda and was saving the root beer till I could get back home. Reviews of bottled root beer much be done right, after all.
The Body has a sweet, yet sour sarsaparilla flavor on the initial contact with vanilla coming through after a bit. The Bite is on the mellow side, with only a little spice accents. The Head is very tall and foamy, yet doesn’t linger as long as the best do. The Aftertaste is wonderful, a more mature sarsaparilla and vanilla flavor without any of the sour.
This is pretty good, but that initial sour kick really ruins it for me. It could have a spicier Bite too, oh well. I imagine it’d pair wonderfully with their Tousignant Burger and Dogs, that signature seasoning was divine. So I give it a solid drinkable. Definitely worth dropping by. See how it rates against other root beers.
This brew comes from Big Muddy Brewing in Murphysboro, Illinois. The brewery is named after the Big Muddy River which is, you guessed it, big and muddy. Or, at least it seems to be so if the Wikipedia article is to be trusted. I’ve never been there so I have to take their word for it. There’s a lot of questions I have for these guys without any real answers to be found. Like, why a Sasquatch? If you asked most people where they imagine big foots (feets?) to be found, I doubt Illinois would be near the top of their lists. The website is rather devoid of facts about the brewery leaving more questions then answers. It’s also devoid of mentioning this root beer, which is another question I have for them. The wonderful Vince sent this my way, proving once again why he is such an invaluable asset to the root beer community. 
In 1929 the great depression began. A man by the name of Frank Duffy, who didn’t know how to use apostrophes correctly, began selling a root beer. His mascot was the Duffys’ Elf for no discernible reason. But he was not the only man to do so that year. So did the folks who made 