I had ignored this root beer for several years as I thought it was the same Americana Cream Style. Then I finally dug out my old bottle and checked the ingredients and found that they were different, and it wasn’t called Cream Style any more. It doesn’t seem to be made by Seattle Specialty Beverages either. Rumor has it that the original Americana Cream Style folded and Orca changed things a bit and is just going with this Americana. Interestingly, the label doesn’t depict an Americana soda, i.e. things associated with the culture and history of America, esp. the United States. The original did but now it’s all “Delicious Vintage” and “Handcrafted” and whatnot. The irony of the first is not lost on me seeing that this is a brand new recipe. Hopefully they improved it over the first Americana I tried.
The Body has a dark sassafras flavor that turns rich and creamy with vanilla and honey. The Bite is lacking. The Head, despite the picture on the label, is the “two second Head” and thus dismal. The Aftertaste is vanilla and honey with some wintergreen. It’s very delicious and the best part of this brew.
Wow! That is definitely an improvement over the licorice beast that was Americana Cream Style. It still falls short in almost every category, especially and literally the Head, save that lovely Aftertaste. I’d drink this again, though I wouldn’t seek it out. See how it rates against other root beers.
When my sister graduated from BYU she asked me to help her move to Pullman, WA where her husband was going to complete his degree. My job in helping included riding along with them so they wouldn’t be as bored. I switched between riding with my sister in their car, and with the moving truck. When we finally got there and he was gassing up the truck before returning it, I found this Jackson Hole Buckin’ Root Beer at the station. The picture doesn’t actually depict a bucking bull, but some dude flying in the air above one. I think it’s implying he got bucked off or something. I never was into rodeo that much but whatever. The rest of the label is nice and orderly without trying to throw a million tag lines at you. That’s a cowboy characteristic for you. It’s buckin’, see it bucked, that’s it.
This is produced by the Boylan Bottling Company (I know big surprise) and has been around since 1891. It’s actually one of the more common brands of gourmet root beer. I’ve found it all across the nation and even in Canada. Yet, when I first got this over a decade ago, I mail ordered it in a variety pack. I probably should have just waited until I found it in my many travels, but you never know what you are going to run across before you buy it. Their website says that they let their sodas speak for themselves with “no hype, no marketing gimmicks.” So you’d forgive me for never knowing they were a commonly available until age and miles verified the fact. And to think, some of the others I passed up that day are long gone and I’ll never get a chance to try them … The bottle is kind of unique and with the painted logo rather old fashioned. For some reason it says Boylan Bottleworks on the bottle whereas the website calls themselves the Boylan Bottling Company. I’m not sure why they do that. There is no explanation anywhere. Even Wikipedia says that it was called the Boylan Bottling Company since its founding. So I’m at a loss. 