Root beer
Barq's
Barq's · Mass-market, caffeinated
Atlanta, Georgia, USA (brand owner The Coca-Cola Company; originated Biloxi, Mississippi)
Some links are affiliate links.
Barq's is the mass-market root beer built around its signature "bite" — a sharper, more carbonated, less syrupy take than the creamy A&W school it competes with. The sassafras-and-sarsaparilla root core leans dry rather than dessert-sweet, with a thread of wintergreen and a faint anise-licorice edge giving the finish some snap. It's also the rare root beer that carries caffeine, which suits its brisker, less rounded character. A useful reference point for the category's drier, bitier end versus the vanilla-forward classics.
Objective sensory intensities (how it tastes) — not a liking score.
Our editorial notes.
Scores
Rate it
Add your own read to the crowd’s — a quick score, or a full tasting.
The maker
Barq's was created by Edward Barq, who opened the Biloxi Artesian Bottling Works in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1898 and built a root beer known for its sharper 'bite,' using more caffeine and less sugar than its rivals. The brand was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company, which finalized full ownership around 2000 and now markets it nationally as a caffeinated root beer. Unusually for a root beer, regular Barq's contains caffeine (about 22 mg per 12 oz).
Ingredients & nutrition
Carbonated water, High fructose corn syrup, Caramel color, Sodium benzoate (to protect taste), Citric acid, Caffeine, Artificial and natural flavors, Acacia.
12 fl oz · 160 cal · 44 g sugar(per serving, as labeled)