Follow Your Arrow

Yet another Jungle Jim's acquisition is a Red Arrow Root Beer from Orca Beverage Bottling Company in Mulkiteo, WA. I rather like the simple labeling for the bottle, it's understated and somewhat old fashioned. Orca specialises in Retro Soda's and Red Arrow certainly has a Retro look to it. The ingredients list looks promising, too. I like the stated addition of licorice and wintergreen. It gives you something to anticipate.



Ingredients:

Carbonated Water
Cane Sugar
Natural And Artificial Flavours
Caramel Colour
Phosphoric Acid
Extract Of Wintergreen And Licorice
Sodium Benzoate


Aroma: An upfront whiff of wintergreen and sugar with a hint of licorice.

Head: Nice initial head while pouring, but it dissipates quickly.

Carbonation: Soft carbonation with a bit of an initial bite.

Root Beer Flavour: Red Arrow has a light licorice flavour with understated wintergreen and sugar flavours. Not the usual mass production flavouring you'd get from many Root Beers. The Cane Sugar is a nice addition to the mix and lends itself well to the overall flavour.

Sweetness: Not overly sweet and it's well balanced between flavour and sweetness. Orca got this balance just right.

Aftertaste: A nice aftertaste that lingers on the tongue. Cane sugar and the licorice/wintergreen flavours dominate.

Red Arrow is a good Root Beer. Well worth buying. It gets a 7.5 out of 10.

North To New Hampshire

A recent acquisition was a bottle of Squamscot Root Beer, a product of the Conner Bottling Works in Newfields, New Hampshire. They make quite a few flavours of Soda and I wouldn't mind giving many of them a try. But, all I currently have is their Root Beer. I liked the old fashioned labeling on the bottle, simple and to the point.It also sports a rather interesting ingredients list. Oils, aromatics, gum acacia and not much else. This stands out for me. Can't wait to get to the tasting.

Ingredients:

Lightly carbonated water
Cane Sugar
Caramel Color
Gum Acatia
Methyl Salicylate
Oil of cloves
Other Aromatics and Essential Oils
Sodium Benzoate


Aroma: Has a spicy scent and you can catch the scent of the clove oil. You can also smell a sugar scent.

Head: Doesn't develop a head to speak of.

Carbonation: Soda-like carbonation with a nice fizz. Has a bit of a bite to it, but not a lot.

Root Beer Flavour: Not your average Root Beer extract style flavour. Spicy tones to it that give it a retro, not modern draft, flavour. It's nice and a good change from the usual flavourings that dominate the market.

Sweetness: Well balanced sweetness that is not cloying. The flavour of  the Cane Sugar supports and doesn't overwhelm the other flavours.


Aftertaste: The flavour of Squamscot lingers on all parts of the tongue and is rather pleasant. Makes you want to take another drink. The spiciness and essential oils make for a not unpleasant aftertaste.

Overall: Squamscot is a winner in the Root Beer category. It has everything I am looking for in a premium Root Beer or Soda. Great taste, good aroma and just enough carbonation to give things a little kick. Well worth searching out and drinking!

Squamscot gets a solid 8 out of 10.

Dang It!

On a recent trip to Cincinnati, my spouse was kind enough to drop into Jungle Jim's and score me a few Root Beers and Sodas. One of the Root Beers was Dang!, a Root Beer that is bottled for Imperial Flavors Beverage Company Inc, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
   Their Root Beers are carried in a variety of places nationwide, so finding one shouldn't be a great problem. This is one of those Root Beers that is worth tracking down. Now, I'll have to track down their Butterscotch Root Beer!

Ingredients:

Carbonated Water
Sugar
Natural and Artificial Flavours
Caramel Colour
Citric Acid
Sodium Benzoate (as a preservative)

Aroma: Vanilla scent is upfront and pleasant. A bit of sugar in the scent, but not too much.

Head: Soda-like head that dissipates quickly.

Carbonation: Good carbonation. Keeps its fizz. Not a lot of carbonation bite.

Root Beer Flavour: Hints of wintergreen and nutmeg. Just a bit of spice to this one.  A very nice taste.

Sweetness: Not overly sweet. It well balanced and not cloying at all.

Aftertaste: A spicy aftertaste on the tongue with vanilla overtones. Very nice!

Overall: This was a delightful Root Beer. Has a good flavour and aroma. I could drink this often. It is a "Dang" good Root Beer. Imperial Flavours can be justifiably proud of this one!


I give Dang! Root Beer an 8.5 out of 10 an A. It's a solid Root Beer. Well worth drinking!