Private Selection - Creamy Ginger Root Beer

Another day, another bottle of Private Selection soda from Kroger.  The past few bottles have been honest in their flavor which is appreciated.  Today’s offering is Creamy Ginger Root Beer.  From the name alone I’m fairly excited to taste this one.  I like creamy sodas, I like ginger sodas, I like root sodas, and I like beer sodas.  Perhaps my breakdown is a little off, but you get the jist.  Here’s hoping this soda’s “title” isn’t the only delectable portion.

Well I said I like ginger and judging by the aroma I’m going to get just that.  *Checks ingredients to see if ginger is actually in the bottle.  It is not so he adjusts his prior sentence*  Well I said I like [NATURAL FLAVORS] and judging by the aroma I’m going to get just that.

In Background: The birthing pouch from which Twist was born.

This almost smells like a ginger beer, that’s how spicy the scent I just inhaled was.  My nose isn’t picking up much of the root beer that they claim to be putting down.  Hopefully my tongue will suss out any flavor discrepancies my olfactory glands could not.

This doesn’t really work for me.  It’s not so much bad as it is confusing.  Each sip combines the tastes of both root beer and ginger, as is promised, but the flavors aren’t really complimentary in my mind.  The sweet, somewhat licorice/wintergreen taste of root beer is constantly battling the spice-sation (#spicesation) of the ginger.  

The ginger itself, while very noticeable, doesn’t include the “burn” that one normally associates with a strong ginger flavor.  I personally believe if the ginger flavor was a bit stronger and had some of that burn this soda wouldn’t seem quite as confused.  The bottle does state it’s a “creamy” ginger so perhaps they already took this alternate path and found the burn did them no favors.

The finish is listed as “smooth” on the bottle and for the most part it is.  You get the lingering creaminess of a root beer, but once again the ginger pops in and ruins a somewhat enjoyable experience.  It’d be like going to see the symphony to see what all the fuss is about.  Then as you sit there and finally start learning to appreciate something the person next to you silently passes gas.  It’s not ruining the sound of the orchestra, but the moment is lost.

So there you have it, I finally tried a Private Selection soda that I did not like.  The two flavors mix terribly in my mind, like toothpaste and orange juice.  It’s not a total loss though as I’ve almost finished the bottle, so it’s drinkable at the very least.  That said…

~A

This was purchased at a Kroger grocery store