Druthers (#8 - Rated 9.9 out of 12)

This is an Illinois brew.  Timothy Iwaanicki is the owner of Drutherss Beverage Company in Oglesby, Illinois.  In June of 2013 he was interviewed and stated when he grew up ‘Black Cow’ was a colloquialism for a root beer float.  He started the business in approximately 1998 with the idea of making a root beer with vanilla crème, creating the Black Cow Float in a bottle.   After securing trademark approval for Druthers Black Cow, he launched Druthers Red Cow, which is a red crème soda, and Druthers Orange Cow, which is an orange crème soda.

Now for the review.  (Click here for rating criteria information)

Ingredients: Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), caramel color, natural and artificial flavors, phosphoric acid, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate as a preservative.

Nutrition information from the label (Per 12 0z):  

• 195 Calories  (13.75 per oz)
• 7.5 mg Sodium.  (0.63 mg per oz)
• 43.5 g sugar  (10%) of Daily Carbohydrates (3.63 g per oz)

Aroma and Flavor - I want to remind you having “Vanilla Cream” in the name means I would look forward to this beverage!  When I opened the bottle, it was a heavenly aroma of vanilla cream and yet lacked the sassafras.

The flavor is my dream come true for desire more vanilla than usual.  The body is creamy and light.  It is refreshing that is as close to a root beer float than any other beverage I have enjoyed.  While it has HFCS as its sweetener, it is not overly sweet and subtle.

It scores a 2.5 out of 3 for aroma and flavor.   (Docked the traditional 0.5 for the use of HFCS – Yes it would have been my first three.)

Head - The head is tall but is vanishes quickly.  If you get distracted for a very short moment, it is gone. 

The score is 2 out of 3 for the head

Zip - The aroma is full as I anticipated the first drink.  It has a thicker sweetness and with a touch of licorice noted after each swallow. While it is on the lower side of medium carbonation, it is free of the syrupy texture I would expect with HFCS as the main ingredient.

The Score is 3 out of 3 for zip.  

Post Consumption Impression - The beverage is smooth and has a great flavor combination that is hard to beat.  This would easily be the highest scoring root beer had it not received the traditional 0.5 education for the use of HFCS.  The Aftertaste is vanilla cream, like store brand vanilla ice cream that lasts awhile.  

It scores a 2.4 out of 3 for post consumption impression.  

Would I recommend this?

YES YES YES.  Even though I try to avoid HFCS, this is not overly sweetened.  There is no sense of syrup taste or aroma I sense from the major commercial brands that use excess HFCS.  Overall score is an 9.9 out of 12 mugs