Barr's Originals Dandelion & Burdock

Barr's Originals is a lineup of old fashioned recipes from the A.G. Barr company. Although a large company today, it was started by Robert Barr in 1875. The company began in Falkirk, Scotland, a town a little north and halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. They soon grew to have a position in Glasgow as well. Barr's started selling Irn-Bru in 1901 and is still a Scotland original available in the UK. In 1959, the Glasgow and Falkirk divisions merged. In 2012 there were plans for the company to merge with Britvic, but those plans later fell through.

This is only the second dandelion and burdock soda I've found and the last one I had was long enough ago that I don't really recall the taste. For those who haven't read my previous post about this flavor... yes, dandelion as in the weed. Burdock is a type of thistle. Dandelion and burdock is one of the oldest flavors of soda so just getting to taste it should be considered a bit of a rite of passage. 

The smell is light and airy with a tiny bit of anise. The carbonation is moderate, but the flavor is like that of a chicory. The tongue has a different concentration of taste receptors in different areas, so I sometimes taste a soda by holding it in my mouth in different areas. With the front of my tongue I taste virtually nothing. The front of the tongue is strongly associated with sweetness. When I move the liquid to the the back of my mouth the areas associated with bitterness and sour come alive. The odd root-like taste of this makes the mouth water though. I personally don't care for the flavor, but I do recommend that fans of soda at least try it.