Since I’ve already reviewed the original Dang! That’s Good Root Beer, I won’t make any comments on the name of this one. Except that the bottle also says “The Original” on it. Now how can it be the original if it is the butterscotch version? Shouldn’t it say, “The Butterscotch?” Unless there’s a fake version of Dang! That’s Good Butterscotch (there is Dougie Dog Butterscotch) but then there would have to be a fake version of the original root beer as well because it has the same tag on its label (and there isn’t a Dougie Dog other than the butterscotch). Or most likely, the makers of this, probably their marketing department, didn’t really think about why it is “The Original” but figured it lent some credibility to it in the way that vague marketing phrases often do. I find it extremely curious though that the bottle for this was a different type of bottle than the other Dang! Root Beer even though I bought them at the same store at the same time.
Anyways, the Body has a very strong, extremely sweet butterscotch flavor that masks out the other root beer flavors, which are on the light side, the very light side. I hold the brew in my mouth a little longer than usual before swallowing, waiting for something more, sadly it never comes. The Bite consists mainly of a carbonation tingle which is thankfully toned down from the original (regular?) Dang! That’s Good Root Beer. The Head is of excellent height but not too frothy so it fizzes down pretty quick. The last centimeter or so lingers around a little bit longer. The Aftertaste is mostly butterscotch with a slight hint of standard root beer flavors.
It was nice to see that they made some improvements over the original Dang! That’s Good (I am really getting tired of writing this whole name out), like toning down carbonation Bite while improving the Head height and frothiness. While I often like a variant on root beer flavors, like the butterscotch, that’s no excuse for skimping out on the rest of the root beer flavors, which it seems that they did. The rule should be, keep your recipe and add the new flavor, like Frostie and Frostie Vanilla. They sadly left the Body too hollow and the Bite too off for a Seal of Approval. See how it rates against other root beers.
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.
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.