Seal of Approval – Page 6 – Eric's Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Parlor Butterscotch Root Beer

Apr 062022

The second root beer of my birthday present of Parlor. This one is a butterscotch which is nice because while that type of brew used to be quite popular to add to a soda maker’s lineup, I haven’t seen a lot of new ones in the past few years. I guess 2020 was kind of a big stoppage in new flavor creation amongst all of the other problems. Anyways this brew. Now there is a parlor guy on the bottle and I don’t know his name. Couldn’t find anything about him on the website, but I think he looks a lot like a Brian, Brian Butterscotch? Maybe Bill. Yeah, Bill Butterscotch, better pay your Bills if you know what I mean.

The Body has a rich butterscotch flavor accented by vanilla and a root beer core. The flavors mingle beautifully so that neither overpowers the other. The Bite is mild for a root beer, as butterscotch, not spice takes the main stage. The Head is nice height and frothy. The Aftertaste is of vanilla and butterscotch.

Wow, good job. They nailed it and butterscotch root beer is hard to nail. This takes the simple plain root beer flavor of their original and expertly adds butterscotch to make it a thing of excellence. If their original brew had been more complex, maybe with more wintergreen and other spices, it may not have worked, but dang! (on purpose) It sure did this time. See how it rates against other root beers.

Potosi Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Dec 012021

Potosi Root Beer Bottle I’ve been searching for this for a long time. I’ve known about it for years but could never actually get a hold of it. Then finally, when I went to the Museum of root beer grand opening, they had it on tap, but I wanted to drink lots of other root beer there as well, so I didn’t drink it. But they also were selling bottles which solved everything. I bought two. Potosi is made in Potosi, WI, where the National Brewery Museum is, evidently. I’ve never been there but I assume they give this to non-beer drinkers who go visit the museum. It says on the bottle that all profits go to charity. I assume that means the Brewery Museum, but maybe there are also other charities. It doesn’t say. I don’t really care. I just want good root beer.

The Body is full flavored with honey, sarsaparilla accented by a bit of vanilla. It’s super sweet and sticky as well. I like it. The Bite is spicy with a decently smooth finish. The Head is supremely tall and foamy so pour carefully. The Aftertaste is honey and aged sarsaparilla. I wish there were a bit more vanilla to it, but it’s still really good.

This is quite nice. I like it. Good honey, smooth finish. Shame there isn’t more creamy vanilla but I could drink this, a lot. Now I feel I should visit that brewery museum, or at least just drink this on tap next time I see it. See how it rates against other root beer.

Whistler Classic Soda Lemon Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Apr 072021

Whistler Lemon Root Beer Bottle For the first time in awhile I went out to Blue Sun Soda. I’ve been trying to avoid in-person shopping as much as possible what with the pandemic. Plus it’s sad to me to go up there and not play video games and enjoy a phosphate. Any how, I went back, hunting for a different root beer (review coming next month) and when I asked them if they said they had anything new, they remarked that they’d just started making a lemon root beer. That sounds like a terrible idea to me. If you’ve read this blog much (or my reviews in general) you know my opinion of sour, citrusy, fruity flavors in my root beer. I’ve also not had the best experience with Whistler despite my love for what they do. To set my expectations even lower, when I posted about the new root beer on Facebook, the owner of Whistler commented that he himself didn’t like it but people kept asking for it so he made it. That’s actually hilarious and I told him to not take it bad if I panned it in my review. After all, would you be excited to drink something its own creator has dismissed as weird? But so I found myself filling my mug with a lemon scented brew.

The Body has a rich creamy root beer flavor that is almost caramely and is sharpened by lemon accents which transition to a vanilla lemon flavor. Despite a strong lemon, it isn’t sour or even feel citrusy. The Bite is mostly from prickly carbonation but it finishes smooth. The Head is medium height and staying power, sufficient for a good brew. The Aftertaste is rich vanilla and lemon, like a lemon custard, but for some reason it feels completely natural to finish a root beer like this.

No. No no no no. This isn’t right … how? It’s amazing! But it shouldn’t be. Literally nothing I just wrote makes any sense to me. Finishing a root beer with lemon custard? What? But it’s delicious. I can’t stop drinking it. I want more. It seems like the most natural fantastic root beer despite contradiction of its flavors. What dark wizardry is this? A lemon root beer has no business being this good. But I’ll be back for more. Congratulations Whistler, I award you the Seal of Approval. See how it rates against other root beers.

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