Zest-o Root Beer

Here is another international review. Zest-o Root Beer comes from Quezon City in the Philippines. The website is in English and features all the products Zest-o offers, mostly food related. I picked this stuff up on my study abroad last January in Dubai, but i have found websites where you can order it and have it shipped here. I know a few people who are from or lived in the Philippines and told me about another soda over there they say is similar to root beer, but really isn't root beer. I don't remember the name of it now, but i remember trying it and not being impressed at all. It was kinda weird. But from the sounds of it, root beer is really hard to find outside the U.S. I know Bundaberg comes from Australia and i reviewed that root beer previously, but that stuff is seriously terrible, further solidifying my notion that i never want to go to Australia. My wife likes to watch those travel shows about the most dangerous and deadly places on Earth, and guess what... they are all in Australia. Nature seriously wants to kill everyone there.

I found this in the Emirates Mall in Dubai inside a giant store that would be comparable to Walmart here. I don't recall the name of it. But all i could find were cans of Zest-o, and it was an 11.2 oz. can which is a tad smaller than the standard 12 oz. U.S. can. The label follows the formula of one of the many generic brands here in the states; brown/wooden background (presumably symbolizing a barrel), typical color scheme, and even an image of a frothy root beer mug at the bottom. The logo is bold and prominent with the promise that this root beer has a full rich flavor. We'll just have to see about that.

Right off the bat, this stuff had a thick anise aroma when i cracked the can open, basically giving away the taste of the soda. It's fairly sweet (they use refined sugar) and reasonably carbonated, but heavily dominated by the anise flavor. Anyone who has followed my reviews knows that i am not a big fan of this. Basically, this stuff is like drinking a can of Good & Plenty (i can't remember if i said this before about another root beer, but it seems like i could have). And everyone knows that in the grand scheme of candy

supremacy, Good & Plenty comes in second to last just above candy corn. So long story short, i'm not really a fan. That's lucky for me since this stuff is generally harder to find considering it is made overseas and may be difficult to get here in the states. And for a comprehensive breakdown of candy supremacy, visit my blog of the candy supremacy hierarchy.

My official review is that Zest-o Root Beer gets 4 (four) IBCs. It's not a terrible tasting root beer, but i simply don't like the flavor. Much better than some of the other garbage out there and a decent attempt for an overseas company to take at making root beer. I think I would like to visit the Philippines sometime. From pictures and talking to people it seems to be a tropical paradise where everything is really inexpensive. Australia, however, is a hell hole.