I have a special place in my heart for Root Beer, and this is a special day for the popular soft drink as well.
It was on this date in 1890 that William Hires founded his company and started selling root beer in bottles. It is believed to be the second oldest soft drink in history, behind only Ventnors ginger ale.
My connection to root beer?
Well, it's not Hires.
The brew we sold at my parents soda shoppe in Oxford came out of this Rochester Root Beer Barrel. It was a combination of syrup and soda water.
But that wasn't the key to this incredibly popular drink.
That would be the fact that it was served in a frosted mug that we took out of the freezer. When the frothy drink hit the mug, it instantly created an icy feel that I've never seen duplicated.
And what would one pay for such a delight.
Well, that would be all of a nickel.
Yep, 5 cents a mug.
No, we didn't get rich at that store, unless you consider the memories priceless.
There is not a single time that I hear someone reference root beer that I do not think of this barrel, which to this day still sits in my basement rec room.
It no longer emits a frothy soda. But it continues to hold lots of memories.
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