One Last Taste of Summer: Blackmaker Root Beer Liqueur (70 Proof)

As summer comes to an end and fall returns upon us, some are not ready for the seasonal change just yet. What to do when your days become shorter and your nights become cooler? One plausible answer is to find a taste that reminds you of long summer days, warm nights and running barefoot through grass.

Being in the market for a few years now, Blackmaker Root Beer Liqueur is a premium, sweet flavored liqueur from White Rock Distilleries established in 1937 in Maine. In May of 2011, the brand was sold to Sazerac Company, but is still produced at White Rock who also produces Pinnacle Vodka and their 31 flavors.

Bottled in a think-necked apothecary bottle, this dark rich liqueur looks as vintage as the original bottles used for root beer from the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the 1930's. The liqueur is a spiced and sweetened mix containing a combination of wintergreen, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, anise and sweet birch creating a perfect authentic root beer flavor.

Blackmaker Root Beer Liqueur is relatively inexpensive in the world of global liqueurs ($18 - $25). Its ginger, anise and spice creates a sought after blend as combined in the recipe below:

The Root Beer Float:

2 oz Pinnacle Whipped Cream flavored vodka

2 oz Blackmaker Root Beer Liqueur

Splash of Coke

As a side note:
The name "Blackmaker" comes from folklore described on the back label as being a ‘name given to an odd man’, who was a self-schooled herbalist that tended to his many herbs and botanicals at the base of the northern White Mountains. The Blackmaker was said to experiment with concoctions that he would sell at local markets, and this recipe was the best of his root beer extracts made to a be a spirited and tasty liqueur.