Root Beer Review #32 – Old Red Eye Root Beer

Red Eye is the nickname for:

• An overnight flight
• A coffee drink where espresso is added to normal drip coffee
• A Fox News show at 3AM

All of which should not be confused with pink eye, or the Old Red Eye soda.

“Legend has it, there was a craggy old bull named Red Eye – with a glint and a gnarly attitude, he could only be coaxed from his pen to do his daily duties when a brave soul would pop open a bottle of his favorite root beer, pour it in his tin bowl then run like heck before being stomped. Red Eye preferred his root beer frosty cold.”

This is another root beer from the Orca Beverage Company, manufacturer and bottler of some of the root beers I’ve tried: Americana, Bedford’s, Bulldog, Dad’s, Frostie, O-So Butterscotch,  and Red Arrow.  They manufacture at least four more brands I haven’t tried: Anchor, Brownie Caramel, Hippo, and Sioux City.

Old Red Eye is a wintergreen variety. I always get confused and think it tastes bubble-gummy. It has a strong flavor, and it’s Logan approved. An hour after drinking, I could still taste the root beer – the sugaryness lingers.

A reader or two commented that my ratings should be in a spreadsheet or consolidated.  Instead, I’ll add a little note whether it’s Wintergreen (W), Licorice (L), or Other (O).

Derek’s Rating: 6.7

Here are the rankings:

9.5 Sprecher Root Beer: buy me in bulk online!
9.1 River City Root Beer
9.0 Americana Root Beer
8.8 Tower Root Beer
8.5 Henry Weinhard’s Root Beer
8.1 maine root handcrafted rootbeer: Available at b.good on tap
8.0 Virgil’s Root Beer: available at some supermarkets
7.7 Chicago Root Beer
7.4 Bulldog Root Beer
7.3 Thunder Beast
7.2 Cicero Salted Caramel Root Beer
7.2 O-So Butterscotch Root Beer
7.0 Cicero Chicago Style Root Beer
6.8 J.J. Stewart Root Beer
6.7 Old Red Eye Root Beer
6.6 Frostie Root Beer
6.5 Dr. Brown’s Root Beer Draft Style
6.2 Bedford’s Root Beer
5.9 Red Arrow Root Beer
5.1 Saranac Root Beer
4.8 Jack Black’s Dead Red Root Beer
4.7 Filbert’s Root Beer
4.3 Triple “AAA” Root Beer
4.0 Trader Joe’s Vintage Root Beer
3.9 Avery’s Root Beer
3.6 towne club root beer
3.4 Dad’s Old Fashioned Root Beer
3.2 Rocky Mountain Root Beer
2.5 Mug Old Fashioned Root Beer
2.0 Judge Wapner Root Beer
0.4 The Pop Shoppe
0.1 GuS Dry Root Beer