Virgil's Root Beer: Tasty and Delicious
I love root beer. Ginger ale, too. Always have. I blame my Dad, who made a special treat during my childhood of going to the liquor store (he doesn't drink -- no one in my family does) to pick up special, microbrewed root beers and ginger ales only available there.
I'm not an aficionado or obsessive by any means, but if a new root beer catches my eye I'll probably pick up a few bottles, just in case. Usually I'm disappointed, or worse, disgusted (I'm looking at you, Diet Hansen's Root Beer). On just such a whim, I picked up a four-pack of Virgil's Root Beer this past Tuesday from my local Ralph's grocery store, then cracked open the first bottle over dinner that night.
It is absolutely delicious. Enough so, that the bottle I just finished motivated me to write this, just so I can share the good word. I found myself loving the experience of drinking, while simultaneously overcome with a melancholy, for like a child in his carefree Summer, I knew each sip brought me closer to finishing the bottle.
Forget what you think root beer should taste like. After a Virgil's, popular brands such as Barq's or Mug become just another food-colored, high-fructose corn syrup wash. In fact, it's the lack of corn syrup that partially motived the purchase -- I've found that sweet foods and drinks made with corn syrup frequently taste, for lack of a better term, unwholesome, and I've had my eye out for alternatives.
Here's the Virgil's ingredient list: Purified carbonated water; unbleached cane sugar, caramelized unrefined cane sugar, herbs and spices! (their exclamation mark, not mine). It is in their choice of herbs and spices that the genius is first seen. From the bottle: Virgil's is a superb blend of spices and herbs gathered from the world over; anise, licorice, vanilla (bourbon), cinnamon, clove, wintergreen, sweet birch, molasses, nutmeg, pimento berry oil, balsam oil, and cassia oil.
Pimento berry oil? What mad artisan crafted this drink? The taste is difficult to pin down. It truly is unique, and an altogether pleasurable experience. It's like the warm aroma of baked molasses cookies, but chilled, creamy, and with a hint of spice. The packaging is charming, too. They went to the effort to include the explicit instruction, "Serve Chilled (Without ice)" on the label -- these people clearly take their root beer seriously (as they should).
Again, I found my bottles at Ralphs, but the Virgil's web site indicates it is also available at Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and other upscale grocers. If you have a root beer or ginger ale special find, I would love to hear about it. I'm always on the lookout for the next high-quality beverage.
I'm not an aficionado or obsessive by any means, but if a new root beer catches my eye I'll probably pick up a few bottles, just in case. Usually I'm disappointed, or worse, disgusted (I'm looking at you, Diet Hansen's Root Beer). On just such a whim, I picked up a four-pack of Virgil's Root Beer this past Tuesday from my local Ralph's grocery store, then cracked open the first bottle over dinner that night.
It is absolutely delicious. Enough so, that the bottle I just finished motivated me to write this, just so I can share the good word. I found myself loving the experience of drinking, while simultaneously overcome with a melancholy, for like a child in his carefree Summer, I knew each sip brought me closer to finishing the bottle.
Forget what you think root beer should taste like. After a Virgil's, popular brands such as Barq's or Mug become just another food-colored, high-fructose corn syrup wash. In fact, it's the lack of corn syrup that partially motived the purchase -- I've found that sweet foods and drinks made with corn syrup frequently taste, for lack of a better term, unwholesome, and I've had my eye out for alternatives.
Here's the Virgil's ingredient list: Purified carbonated water; unbleached cane sugar, caramelized unrefined cane sugar, herbs and spices! (their exclamation mark, not mine). It is in their choice of herbs and spices that the genius is first seen. From the bottle: Virgil's is a superb blend of spices and herbs gathered from the world over; anise, licorice, vanilla (bourbon), cinnamon, clove, wintergreen, sweet birch, molasses, nutmeg, pimento berry oil, balsam oil, and cassia oil.
Pimento berry oil? What mad artisan crafted this drink? The taste is difficult to pin down. It truly is unique, and an altogether pleasurable experience. It's like the warm aroma of baked molasses cookies, but chilled, creamy, and with a hint of spice. The packaging is charming, too. They went to the effort to include the explicit instruction, "Serve Chilled (Without ice)" on the label -- these people clearly take their root beer seriously (as they should).
Again, I found my bottles at Ralphs, but the Virgil's web site indicates it is also available at Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and other upscale grocers. If you have a root beer or ginger ale special find, I would love to hear about it. I'm always on the lookout for the next high-quality beverage.