so i finally broke down and figured i would probably not get to make a road trip to PA anytime soon in a quest for the rest of the Big Ben’s sodas i had not had. so i mail ordered them. they only mail order the 20 oz plastic bottles though which is a bit of a shame as the glass bottles they use are awesome, re-used and collected from old bottlers, some are 50+ years old! but i can understand not shipping those off as they need them back. of course i would rather not drink from plastic when possible though. strangely, this flavor is not one you can get in glass though so take that as you will. another thing annoying here is that the carbonation level of all of the bottles i have had so far is very very low. i want to hear that fizz, the gas escape, it makes me happy. i don’t get that here.
i find it strange that there is no flavoring listed in the ingredients. i am guessing the “natural and artificial color” should be “natural and artificial flavor” though. i suppose this is officially titled “Fast Draw Sarsaparilla” to try to draw in some of that cowboy allure. yet the “Fast Draw” part is in a very small font so i doubt it would have a lot of effect anyway. this tastes like a sarsaparilla to me. it is similar to root beer, but different, more herbal, verging on medicinal but in a good way. it just tastes more earthy and natural although i am sure it is not. some anise is detectable but not overpowering. the lack of carbonation does bother me a bit and the flavor is not amazing although it is good. i don’t regret getting it at all and will happily drink the others i got. the world needs more sarsaparillas and small soda bottlers so i am happy to support these guys and gals.
Anthony’s Rating: 82
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| Type: | Sarsaparilla | Comes In: | 20 oz plastic bottle, 2L plastic bottle, 32 oz plastic bottle |
| Available: | PA, online | Obtained in: | mailorder from company |
| Head: | Small | Sweetener: | corn sweetener, sugar |
| Calories: | 165 | Sodium: | 30mg |
| Carbs: | 40g | Sugar: | 40g |
| Caffeine: | No | ||
| Website: | http://www.catawissabottlingco.com/bigben.htm | ||
Ingredients: carbonated water, sugar and/or corn sweetener, natural and artificial color, caramel, citric acid, and preserved with sodium benzoate
This was pretty good sarsaparilla. It was not the best; however I’d have it again. Kind of had a basic sarsaparilla flavor, however it was done very nicely. I gave this one a 85.
I recently bought a 6-pack of your sarsaparilla soda and I was really looking forward to it because I’ve heard great things about your brand. But something seemed off with this batch.
The taste wasn’t quite what I expected—it didn’t have that classic sarsaparilla flavor I was hoping for, and it just tasted… different. The appearance was a bit unusual too [e.g., “it looked cloudier than normal,the color seemed darker than usual”]. It made me wonder if there might’ve been an issue with this particular batch.
I thought I’d reach out to let you know, in case it’s something you’d want to look into. I can share more details if needed—there’s a code on the packaging I can send over, or I can describe it further.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this.and im a huga fan of you guys.
Hi Jeff! I just reviewed the soda, I have no connection to Big Ben’s. Nice of you to reach out though.