And it's got PUPPIES on the label, too!

I think I've found a root beer that trumps Abita, and I'm not quite sure that's a good thing. I mean, I love a good root beer, but Paul and I just went on a diet a couple of weeks ago. Until now, we've done a good job of drinking Diet Dr. Pepper when we want something fizzy and caffeinated. So I really don't need a calorie-laden soda calling to me from the World Market bags that are sitting in our kitchen waiting to be unpacked.

Double-whammy: The Coke machine at work is out of Diet Coke. I think this is largely because my closet is right next to it and I've been drinking Diet Cokes in tandem with large styrofoam cups of water from the glug-glug machine.

Oh, right. I was talking about root beer. I literally was running through World Market last week as the cashier rang up my items after I realized I'd forgotten the four-pack of sodas that serve as my "good girl" treats on the weekend. While I was back there, I happened upon a six-pack of Bulldog Root Beer, so I grabbed it too.

I assume it was in this crazy rushed state of mind that I put my wallet into my pocket instead of my purse, which threw me into a panic Friday when I realized I'd lost my wallet. (Paul was nice enough to drive home and tear up the house looking for it before I realized it was probably in my pants.)

And while Paul was at home playing Where's The Wallet?, I was at my desk cracking open a bottle of root beer and falling in love. ::grins:: It's creamy and sweet, most likely because those crazy folks at Bulldog aren't satisfied with high fructose corn syrup. Instead they use a triple threat: cane sugar, honey (which leaves a pronounced taste), AND maltodextrin. Did I mention it's sweet?

Anyway, my impulse purchase was a stroke of good luck — I later found out that the once-scarce Bulldog was rated 3rd of 143 by Luke's Root Beer Reviews and 1st of 311 by Anthony's Root Beer Barrel. And BevNet gave it a coveted five of five stars (certainly a rare occurance).

I guess I can't totally remove Abita from my fridge yet (hey, we have a history), but it's going to have to scooch over a bit to make room for the new guy.