By Tao

Oh, the Root!
I was supposed to get back to you on that last week! oops…I would love to spread  a mischievous story about how I became so enamored with the spicy, sweet and potent concoction that I took several lefts instead of one right and ended up on the ocean shore. Well, that part is true. I’m at the beach right now. And perhaps I have taken some unusual turns recently, but that’s another story entirely…

Back to Root. First, here’s some tantalizing background: “ROOT traces its heritage all the way back to the 1700s when colonists were first introduced to the Root Tea that Native Americans would drink as an herbal remedy. Brewed from sassafras, sarsaparilla, wintergreen birch bark, and other roots and herbs, Root Tea was used to cure a variety of ailments. As colonial settlers passed the recipe down form generation to generation, the drink grew in potency and complexity.” Read more here.

Doesn’t it make you long for those good old days when everything we did involved our connection to nature and a sense of art? My first experience with Root, an herbal, organic root liqueur, was a similar one. So, I gathered a table of friends together to share it with me.

I’ll start with one important piece of advice – sip, don’t gulp. This taste is big and bold and complex, so take your time. Then take a second sip immediately. Then wait. You’ll first feel the warm sweet taste, which will quickly change to spicy and almost “cool” going down. I challenge you to not read all of the ingredients beforehand, but instead try to find the flavors freehand. Mixing is not necessary, but encouraged by some mixologists. I discovered my own favorite – Root with Kombucha.

I could instantly pick out the cloves and the anise, the other 11 herbal/plant flavors took some time. But who could anticipate the rich, earthy taste of birch bark?? This was certainly a first for me. To call it unique is only a beginning. And, sustainability geeks like me don’t have to worry about that part since the birch bark used in Root is only taken from fallen or dead trees – the incredible natural properties keep it viable. Learn more about all the ingredients here.

In fact, Root will soon get all of these organically and sustainably grown ingredients from 200 acres of its own farmland in NH, devoted to the entire brew process, comingling with the local community, and yes, supporting Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.

What I also discovered and appreciated during these past 5 days sipping and sharing my Root with friends at home and beyond is the value of my own comingling, stopping to sip, be with friends and pay attention to all things Art.

(You can order Root online and/or find it at select PA liquor stores.)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 at 9:48 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.