Soda Review: Boston Tower Root Beer

VESSEL: 12 oz. dark brown bottle. No characteristic markings. Label is contrasting black, orange and white. Marketed as “Ye Olde Fashioned” and “Better Than the Rest • Pure Water Used”. Visually striking package convinced me to purchase.

SMELL: Strong odor of root beer, but seemingly inorganic; akin to root beer flavored Dum-Dums



HEAD: Pours well and forms decent head that disappears quickly and lacks cream characteristics.

APPEARANCE: Dark brown, almost black. Considerable opacity.



TASTE: Taste unimpressive with standard root beer flavoring. Lacks distinct tones of other high quality root beers (cream, honey, vanilla, etc). Flavor lacks depth and is discernable in only limited regions of the palate.

FINISH: Quick finish. Taste disappears after 6 seconds of swallowing.

MOUTH FEEL: Light to moderate thickness, no syrupy quality

NOTES: This root beer disappointed me quite a bit. I tasted it from both the bottle and poured into glass, after seven hours of refrigeration. I expected a hand-crafted artisanal product that would merit its relatively high cost ($2.19). Instead of this I found a generic, monotonous flavor with few inspirational notes. There was no “pop” to this beverage and as previously mentioned the flavor was borderline chemical, being very similar to that of root beer flavored candies. I purchased this soda at the Mecca of soft-drinks, "Pops" in Arcadia, Oklahoma in the absence of my preferred “Henry Weinhard’s Famous Root Beer”. In hindsight, I should have picked up one of “Virgil’s Root Beers” (which were available). While this beverage may be enjoyable to children, it is far surpassed by other premium beers and fails to compare economically with mainstream commercial brands.

OVERALL RATING: C