by Aaron Einhorn
What do Corsair, Kanjar Ro, Nebula, Han Solo, Ulysses Bloodstone, Captain Barracuda, Guybrush Threepwood, Plunderer, the Dread Pirate Roberts, and Conan the Barbarian all have in common? If you answered “They’re pirates,” you’re partially there.

Now, what do all of the above characters, and you, have in common? If you answered “We’d all love Root Jack if we tried it,” then you’d be absolutely correct.

Root Jack, which bills itself as “the Pirate Energy drink”, is an awesome – if somewhat bizarre tasting – drink, developed by the folks at Voodoo Elixers, and is a root beer-based soda, that also adds orange flavoring and many of the other ingredients typical of most “energy drinks”.

I first sampled Root Jack at GenCon, and was then sent a 4-bottle case to review, and my impression after drinking an entire bottle (or two) are pretty much the same as my impression from the sample: it’s a slightly odd taste, but one that is really, really good.

Advertised with the fact that it “prevents scurvy” (because of the Vitamin C), the orange flavoring is an unusual compliment to the root beer taste, but one that works surprisingly well. Each bottle of Root Jack has 120 mg of caffeine, and 100% of your daily dose of Vitamin C. It also contains that favored additive of all energy drinks, Guarana.

As far as the taste goes, I really can’t say enough good things. I’ve always liked Root Beer, and the orange and other spices are a perfect compliment. As an energy drink, Root Jack adequately serves, with comparable caffeine to Red Bull, and a price that is similar ($8.99 for a case of four bottles).

My single biggest criticism of Root Jack? The targeting of it as a Pirate Energy drink seems awfully limiting. While it’s a fun gimmick, and one that might help to get the drink to penetrate into geek markets (after all, we wouldn’t typically review a regular bottle of soda on Comic Hero News), Root Jack is a good enough drink to appeal outside of that basis.

The other problem is that unless you live in certain areas of Illinois, Indiana or Michigan, the only way to get your hands on Root Jack is through online ordering. Not the biggest hassle in the world, but it does mean no running down to the convenience store to stock up on the drink.

You can order your own case of Rootjack at ThinkGeek – and I fully consider it worth trying!