Mrs. Spike would not pose topless for this photo. Oh well...

Manufacturer:

Hank's Beverage Co. Philadelphia, PA 19154

 

 

The Ingredients:

Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, orange juice concentrate, natural and artificial flavor, citric acid, sodium benzoate (a preservative), food starch modified, glycerol ester of wood rosin, yellow #6, red #40, brominated soybean oil and BHA (to protect flavor).

The website: www.hanks-rootbeer.com

Spike says:

It's orange. It smells like orange. It's creamy. It's got so much sugar I won't sleep until February (with twice what you get out of a normal root beer, weighing in at 48g of the sweet stuff). For those in the know, with all that sugar it tastes like orange Tahitian Treat. That link has a mention of Cactus Cooler. Man, I haven't thought about Cactus Cooler since I was a little guy, and that was long ago and far away..

Whoa! What's up with these ingredients? Brominated soybean oil I'm familiar with - it's used in citrus sodas to keep them from separating (you'll find brominated vegetable oil in Mt Dew) but gycerol ester of wood rosin? According to our friends up north (that would be Canada), it's also known as "ester gum" and is "a density adjusting agent in citrus flavoured and spruce flavoured beverages." The USDA apparently thinks the stuff is safe. Wait a minute...this gets stranger by the click. "spruce flavoured beverages"? Aside from spruce flavored beer apparently there exists a soda called Mystic Seaport Spruce Beer. Here's a great review of that soda (quote: "If you ever wanted to lick a pine tree, here is your chance").

So how is this orange cream soda? Tasty, but too sweet. I like the orange flavor but can't deal with the sugar. Maybe that's why my childhood favorite Tahitian Treat hasn't swept the nation...