Store brands or private labels can provide really great products or mediocre knock-offs. Today, I am going to try Casey’s Root Beer, which is a root beer made by the popular Casey’s gas station.
Casey’s has several other soda flavors to try as well. You can find Casey’s in many Midwest states in the USA.
Branding
The branding is pretty muted overall. You get the Casey’s logo along with the flavor underneath it in white lettering. The label itself is red with a little brown. The only reason it stands out is if you are looking for the Casey’s section of drinks or because the text is smaller than most of its competition.
Taste and Ingredients
The smell when one twists off the cap of the root beer bottle is sweet and smells much like vanilla. The flavor is surprisingly its own. I expected it to be extremely generic, but it has a wider flavor profile than I thought it would.
The drink is ultimately smooth going down but has more carbonation than many of the Orca-branded root beers I have had lately. The taste is definitely root beer along with some other herbs, probably a mix of licorice, caramel, and maybe vanilla or similar.
The Wrap Up
Casey’s did an alright job. One of the perks of private labels is that they usually price their products lower than the competition, and in this case, the flavor is good enough that I can see myself grabbing this over Barq’s or A&W just because I want to save some money while still getting the flavor I am yearning for.