Virgil's Creamy Brew

Remember when nobody used high fructose corn syrup? Everybody used sugar and nobody had to brag about it. It wasn't that long ago at all.

The people at Virgil's say that their root beer is microbrewed, as opposed to being just stirred together and filtered like other sodas. They also eschew the use of high fructose corn syrup. They claim to use spices and herbs from Jamaica to Madagascar to Indonesia. Well, I don't know what they do for sure but whatever it is, I have a weakness for it and have been an ardent fan since my first swig.

It is impossible for me to be impartial (or unexcited) about Virgil's. I have to say that Virgil's holds a special place in my heart and I do not think of it as a soda. To say that Virgil's Root Beer is creamy is to say that sugar is maybe a little sweet. Rather, I reach for a bottle of Virgil's at the end of a long day as though I were partaking in a fine brew. I sit in silence and sip, and I rediscover a multitude of flavors: from the initial brisk wave of anise and cool licorice to the subtle vanilla and nutmeg that follow and finally the warm cinnamon and outro of molasses that round out the experience.

The folks at Virgil's even sponsor a cooking contest where they award the best recipes created using Virgil's. But I am in complete agreement with my esteemed colleague Badger that a bottle of Virgil's is not to be sullied by the intrusions of the likes of ice cream or other such extraneous flavors--it stands firmly on its own merits as a drink to be savored by itself and without haste.

Grade: 10