Other Soft Drink Flavors

[Irishman]

Interestingly, I have never associated root beer flavor with wintergreen until someone suggested that here. I located some root beer, sampled, and yes, it did have hints of wintergreen.

Bizarre.

[Canadjun]

@WotNot

I’m pretty sure that the objectionable flavour in root beer is the wintergreen component, which I’ve never come across here in cough syrup (or anything meant to be taken orally). It is an ingredient in antiseptic ointment and liniment, though, and that’s what most people will associate with the smell and taste, even if they can’t quite put their finger on it.

Wintergreen?

Root beer is my favourite soft drink (never have liked the taste of Coke or Pepsi), but I certainly don’t taste anything minty about it.

[hogarth]

@flodnak

Last fall I took a vacation to the States with a truckload of Norwegians, and my eldest son and I got them all to try root beer. A couple of them liked it, but the others were unanimous that it tasted like toothpaste.

I’ve also been told (by one of my friends) that root beer tastes like toothpaste, and there is a sort of medicinal quality to both of them, I guess. If you Google for “root beer toothpaste”, you’ll see that it’s a popular belief.