Rocket Fizz Dad-Gum-it! Rootbeer Butterscotch

May 29, 2017
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 5:00 am
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: AK, AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, IN, MO, NE, NJ, NC, OH, OR, TN, TX, UT, VA

Obtained in: trade with Sagi
Head: Large Sweetener: cane sugar
Calories: 170 Sodium: 25mg
Carbs: 43g Sugar: 42g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://rocketfizz.com

yup, it seems butterscotch flavored root beers are officially a trend. although this one is a root beer butterscotch. I am rather curious if the Gourmet will review this, it not being a 'butterscotch root beer.' hhhmmm, i'll inquire. anyway, i do like butterscotch things, but i feel there are so many other flavors that could be delicious in root beer. i know a few companies are exploring those options but i am a bit flummoxed as to why butterscotch has caught on so much. caramel, salted or not, would be an even yummier choice although caramel is not an uncommon flavor to be subtly in root beer already. in any case, on with the show, how does this one stack up?!
ok, before that i will comment on the design work. it confuses me and seems like an inside joke of sorts. basically there is a camo background, some barrels, then the soda name in a graffitti style font below a fellow with a hat saying 'Ryan' and a single barrel shot gun. do the presumably root beer barrels have some connection to his shotgun's barrel? who is Ryan? is this dude hunting for butterscotch or root beer or perhaps the barrels depicted? I have no idea, I'm asking you.
ok, the taste. it is not butterscotch really much at all. of the four or five other butterscotch flavored sodas i have had, this is definitely the least butterscotch. it is highly sweet, in a good way, but in more of a caramel way to my taste buds. the drink has a very very large and long lasting foamy head yet does not seem to be terribly highly carbonated. the taste is very creamy and smooth and i enjoyed it quite a bit in a pretty normal-for-a-non-big-bottler-root beer way. it does not overly impress but it does a fairly normal root beer flavor well.
Ingredients:spring water, cane sugar, citric acid, caramel color, gum acacia & natural flavors


Anthony's Rating: 72
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Harmony Springs Root Beer

May 22, 2017
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 5:00 am
Type: Root Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: MA, NY

Obtained in: store in Brooklyn, NY
Head: Medium Sweetener: cane sugar
Calories: 110 Sodium: 0mg
Carbs: 24g Sugar: 24g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://drinkharmonysprings.com/

it is time for the final piece of the triforce as presented by Harmony Springs! granted they have many other flavors and I'm sure don't see it that way, but it is how i roll and this is my website so i'm setting the rules right now. I did actually get a few other flavors from their lineup and was rather impressed with their ginger beer as well, so use that information as you'd like.
so, the root beer, will it be solidly tasty yet not quite top shelf as the birch beer and sarsaparilla were? well, it is interesting, i'll give it that. it is quite 'rooty' tasting, almost as much as the sarsaparilla, which is unusual, a bold move. i mean, it is recognizable as a root beer but not as sweet or traditional tasting. they chose a flavor profile i don't love, even if i think of it as more a sarsaparilla, it is just decent. not bad in any way and better than many many root beers out there, but a step below the birch and sarsaparilla in their stable. there is a very low level of carbs and sugar in this drink, yet it is still sweet enough, so it sort of straddles that line between regular and diet soda. if you think of it that way, as a low calorie beverage, it is exceptional. the carbonation is actually spot on as well, not too much that it interferes with the flavor yet enough to make its presence known.
Ingredients:carbonated pure artesian spring water, pure cane sugar, natural flavors


Anthony's Rating: 82
User's Rating: 0
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Harmony Springs Birch Beer

May 15, 2017
Filed under: root beers — anthony @ 5:00 am
Type: White Birch Beer Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: MA, NY

Obtained in: store in Brooklyn, NY
Head: Small Sweetener: cane sugar
Calories: 120 Sodium: 0mg
Carbs: 26g Sugar: 26g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://drinkharmonysprings.com/

I always get a little excited to try a new white birch beer. i just like them a lot as a genre. this one is as clear as water, it is rather impressive in that regard right off the bat. i do hope this one is as good of a birch beer as the sarsaparilla was for its soda type.
smells good, that is a plus, a solid wintergreen scent is wafting through the air upon opening the top. the taste is marvelous as well, that balance of wintergreen, sugar and birch goodness. yet the carbonation is a little too sharp i feel for it to reach that upper echelon of soda supremacy. as i drink it more, i agree more with that assessment. it does have a solid taste but the carbonation style takes away just a little from that flavor profile.
Ingredients:carbonated pure artesian spring water, pure cane sugar, natural flavors


Anthony's Rating: 85
User's Rating: 0
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Harmony Springs Sarsaparilla

May 8, 2017
Filed under: sarsaparillas — anthony @ 5:00 am
Type: Sarsaparilla Comes In: 12oz glass bottle
Available: MA, NY

Obtained in: store in Brooklyn, NY
Head: Medium Sweetener: cane sugar
Calories: 110 Sodium: 0mg
Carbs: 24g Sugar: 24g
Caffeine: No
Website: http://drinkharmonysprings.com/

I really thought I would have to go to Massachusetts to get this one, along with the other flavors in their line up. but one day i noticed that it was sold at a store in Brooklyn, which is significantly closer to me, huzzah!
i am rather surprised at the low level of carbs / sugar in this drink. most sodas seem to have around 40 grams of sugar, give or take 5 or 10 grams. but 24 grams is super low, as is 110 calories for the whole bottle.
now that i think about it, a sarsaparilla does not really need to be too sweet, if done right. just a low level along with sufficient herbal flavors will make it work. ok, let me see how this stacks up.
yup, they definitely work the herbal flavors here, it is for sure a sarsaparilla in my book. high licorice level, check! cinnamon, check! random other somewhat earthy, kind of bitter flavors that are not overwhelming the sugar, check! yes indeed, this is a very tasty sarsaparilla. if you do not like licorice i am sure you will disagree. it took me a few swigs to warm up to this drink, but now I quite like it. it is not crazy unusual but not a lot is.
Ingredients:carbonated pure artesian spring water, pure cane sugar, natural flavors


Anthony's Rating: 89
User's Rating: 0
# of ratings:0
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