Bottle and Label: Brown bottle with white label. The label is pretty poorly designed with small type and a bland color scheme
Ingredients: Water, sugar, citric acid, sodium benzoate, spices, and more sugar
Smell: There’s only two words to describe the smell from the bottle: cough syrup. When poured the medicinal smell is only slightly less pronounced but is still overwhelming
Carbonation: Medium level of carbonation that offers some nice bite without being over done
Color: Almost black to a dark amber around the edges
Head: Very tall and foamy. I had to stop pouring into my tall, frosty mug to let some of the foam dissipate or it would have poured over the edges. The foam disappears very quickly after being poured
Flavor: Cough syrup. Cough syrup smell and cough syrup taste. I can’t taste anything else. If you like drinking cough syrup you would love this.
Conclusion: How can I say this nicely? Nope, I can’t. This stuff is just bad. I can usually find some redeeming qualities with a root beer. Not so here. Sammi Rae Root Beer does have a good mouth feel and nice foamy head but in the all important flavor department it is downright awful. If you enjoy the taste of cough syrup this brew should be on your short list.
RBR’s Grade- F
I had my first Sammi Rae Root Beer just a few days ago at a local restaurant, and from the very first sip I thought it was the best root beer I’ve ever had. Even better than my memories of Dog & Suds. I don’t know what cough syrup you use, but I’ve never used any that tasted anything like Sammi Rae.
That’s the great thing about root beer! There’s something for everyone. What I don’t like someone else might love. That’s why I always tell folks to try a root beer for themselves before they pass judgement.