The Gramma's house afternoon favorite; Fritos, Bologna and Ketchup
Do you ever think back to when you were a kid and wonder why you were pegged by your parents and grandparents as the “blank” kid? No, not “that” blank. I mean, just fill in the blank with your own description. For me I was the “baseball card collecting, Root Beer drinking, Fritos and bologna with ketchup” kid. I really can’t explain why I was “that” kid aside from placing blame, so lets just leave it a mystery for now. I bring this up mainly because I recently rekindled my love for Root Beer in a more adult fashion. I received an eNewsletter that was highlighting a company called, “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” The name alone is intriguing, but what really caught my attention was the product they were peddling called ROOT. I curiously followed the link to their site and was instantly sold. I knew I had to at least try ROOT. So, just like any bologna and ketchup kid in a candy store, I hopped online and ordered a bottle (not currently available for sale in Idaho liquor stores).
Essentially ROOT is the pure, original, alcoholic tea concoction that Native Americans brewed up before European settlers came over and bastardized it. Prohibition was the death of Root Tea in the early 1900’s. A pharmacist thought he’d be clever and remove the alcohol out of the drink, rename it, “Root Beer,” and serve it to hard working coal miners who were convinced they were still drinking real beer.
Today, ROOT is sold as a liquor to enjoy on the rocks or in a variety of cocktails as a mixer. The AITA site has plenty of recipes and how-to videos that I highly recommend testing out for yourselves. Now if only someone would come up with a Ketchup flavored Frito Nugget…
