My first brew from the Virgin Islands! It’s kind of international since it isn’t from any of the States but kind of not since it’s from the US Virgin Islands. It was quite a bugger to get as the brewers themselves didn’t want to ship it. I had tried to trade with someone, but that fellow turned out to be the most dishonorable scum imaginable and so it ultimately didn’t happen. Then I found some truly goodhearted chaps who were going to send me a bottle but before they could I found it at a local store. Ah the virtues of patience. The label of this is simple and island themed. Though the tap on the tree is somewhat concerning; I hope they don’t have palm extracts in here, that could be … strange. The ingredients don’t list palm, but they do have a nice list of quality spices and flavorings which is very promising.
The Body is sweet and creamy and complex. There are some caramel notes and spice with solid sassafras and vanilla. The faintest hint of wintergreen surfaces as well. There is a strong Bite from the ample amounts of spice. The Head is massive and foamy. Each bottle would have foamed over had I poured the entire thing in at once. Additionally, after waiting a minute, I had to sip it down since it didn’t really go away. The Aftertaste is a caramel vanilla flavor with some notes of anise and mixed spices.
This brew is simply amazing! The many ingredients meld perfectly to give you a root beer that’s balanced and delicious. Add an impeccable Head and you’ve got one of the best brews I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking. This was worth the wait. See how it rates against other root beers.
I can’t remember where I found this but I know when I found it, the year at least. It was in 1999, a year after I’d started reviewing. I know because I have a 75th anniversary bottle that clearly says since 1924 and I can do math. It also says “Original” (aren’t they all) and “Cold-Brewed Draft”, which at first seems pretty cool until you start to think about it. Then it doesn’t really mean anything. Are they trying to say its style is cold-brewed draft (whatever that means)? They can’t be implying that the brew is a draft since it’s clearly bottled. Cold-brewing is a process for coffee, not soda or beer. Since it’s a mass produced root beer, it is most probably just a mixture of a bunch of different extracts. Calling such a procedure cold-brewing is politician like levels of stretching a definition. And thus it probably never was supposed to mean anything and is just more marketing buzzwords thrown on there to imply higher quality at a first glance and complete stupor of thought at a more rigorous examination … what was I doing again? Oh yes, reviewing a root beer. 
This was the 10th root beer that I ever reviewed. After I had had my wonderful 
