What does the phrase "all nautral" mean to you? Does it mean that you are getting something that is more pure or is it a bunch of buzz words without any real meaning. I can tell you what all natural means to the makers of Maine Root soda. It is about creating a drink (in today's case root beer) that is made with ingredients in their most natural state possible with the most minimal of processing. They use carbonated purified water, certified organic evaporated cane juice, natural extracts, spices, and botanicals in all of their sodas.
What is Evaporated Cane Juice?
Maine Root doesn't use high fructose corn syrup or even pure cane sugar. They use evaporated cane juice as their sweetener of choice. In order to make evaporated cane juice, a whole sugar cane goes through some rollers. Then the extract is dried into crystals. Nothing is added and no further processing is done. There is a lot of debate over whether cane juice is better. Some claim it has additional health benefits because it contains nutrients that are lost when processed into common white sugar. Others think it's just a gimmick for your money. Leaving the word "sugar" off the label may lead people to think they are getting some healthy or healthier. I think at the least it's equal to white sugar, with a good possibility of being better for you. It's still sugar though, so too much of it, is not a good thing.
The Root Beer
Health discussion aside, how does Maine Root's Root Beer taste? Here is how Maine Root describes their root beer: "Organically sweetened handcrafted soda made with the extracts of wintergreen, clove and anise. Our recipe combines these ingredients to allow the flavor of each of these extracts to come through."
This is a delicious brew. It's a great all around root beer that has a good root beer flavor with a bit of spice, foamy head, and is nicely carbonated. I don't think it's the best root beer out there. Don't get me wrong it's good but my taste buds tell me there are better tasting ones. Still it is one of the better all around root beers that I think has mass appeal.
Check out my earlier review of another Maine Root product, their 5-star blueberry soda!
Where to Buy
You can purchase Maine Root sodas online from the Old 52 General Store. They have carry their root beer and blueberry soda as well as over 300 varieties of glass bottled soda that you can purchase online or at their store in Sabin, Minnesota.
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