You’ve got to love a root beer bottle with a picture of a drive-in on it. Those were wonderful days, back when root beer reigned supreme as the soft drink of choice, our cars were beefy and so were the burgers. I don’t know how I can really get nostalgic about it since I wasn’t alive then, but I’ve heard stories. It is always nice when a dedicated root beer stand bottles their product so root beer aficionados like myself can enjoy it without having to take a trip to the Midwest. They say it’s been around since 1926 and it’s “Top Rated!” at that. What really got my hopes up was its claims about the amazing Head. So it was with great anticipation that I cracked it open to give it a try.
Sweet mother of root beer Head! The Head is amazingly tall and frothy. It overflowed my mug! The Body is very sweet and creamy. One of the sweetest I’ve ever had. There is a lot of wintergreen and some spices, maybe nutmeg? It is a little light on the sassafras, more of a medium bodied brew. The Bite is pretty good. There are some spices that grab you and a slight carbonation tingle but a smooth finish, as it should be. The Aftertaste is a deliciously creamy vanilla and wintergreen.
So it lived up to it’s claims, especially with the epic Head. I do rate this as a top brew. They say “NOTHING tops it… but the foam!” While not the best root beer ever, I must say, that’s pretty accurate. See how it rates against other root beers.
Yet another Route 66 themed root beer. What is it with Route 66 that makes people want to name a root beer after it? And why do they insist on naming their root beers after it knowing full well that there are other root beers named after Route 66? I suppose it is an iconic American road, not to mention very long, and root beer is an iconic American food so I see the connection. It’s also plausible that before the days of the internet multiple places on the route could decided to name their root beer after it with no knowledge of the other. Plus, who doesn’t like a good pun? And this bottle is full of the puns. “Get to the ROOT of Route 66” and “Get Your SUGAR Fix On Route 66.” I think I would have enjoyed them better if I hadn’t already heard these puns before or thought of them before. And what is up with their choice capitalizations? The bottle does make the claim of being “The Finest Root Beer on The Route” and since I’ve had several other Route 66 root beers I can definitely put that to the test.
Anyone who lived through the ’80’s is familiar with Judge Wapner. He was iconic. The movie Rain Man even more cemented him into TV immortality with the autistic genius fixated on getting his daily Wapner. I must confess, however, I never once watched The People’s Court. I would wait until it was over everyday and the after school cartoons would come on followed by the original Star Trek. Nevertheless, I got very excited when I saw this, and all I could think about before I reviewed it was Dustin Hoffman counting down the minutes to Wapner. Also, the bottle is a cool smoky color instead of the normal clear or brown which is a nice change for my root beer bottle collection.
