Gaaa-aaakk!!!
Today's beverage is Clover Valley root beer. I've never liked root beer, but I haven't drank it in so long I couldn't really remember what the heck it even tasted like. Recently I was in Dollar General, a discount department store, so I decided to pick up a can of their Clover Valley brand root beer. The taste? Things come to mind like black licorice, Necco Waffers, and Pepto-Bismol. Seriously, the main flavor this stuff has for me right now is Pepto-Bismol. Clover Valley isn't exactly a top brand, so now I'm going to have to shell out some cash for a bottle of IBC or ICB or ICBM or whatever the hell it's called to see if that tastes like Pepto-Bismol too. And just what kind of root is this stuff supposed to taste like anyway?
From what I've turned up online, root beer was traditionally made from the roots of sassafras tree, but it also supposedly contained things like birch, sarasaparilla, anise, molasses, etc. For more information on the subject than anyone could possibly want, try Stout Billy's Information Library.
What flavor is Pepto-Bismol? I did a little research and found out it's wintergreen. In some of the root beer reviews I've read online, sometimes a root beer or birch beer will be described as having a wintergreen taste. Apparently wintergreen and birch contain the chemical Methyl Salicylate, so they taste very similar. Mystery solved. But the mystery of why a company would manufacture a beverage that tastes as horrible as Clover Valley root beer will have to remain a mystery.
Worse than even diet soda, Clover Valley root beer is my new standard of awfulness, but I drank it anyway.
Addendum: A few days later I drank a bottle of Mug root beer and thought it was pretty good. But since I didn't get a picture of the bottle or take notes, I'll have to give it a proper review another time.
