Last  Christmas, my son gave me a bottle of Root, a liqueur.  Lovely bottle, chic label design. The flavor was, as described on the bottle, very root beer-like, not at all unpleasant although I’ve never been a fan of root beer.  Still, as a mixer, it was a puzzle: such a strong flavor didn’t really call out for anything else to enhance it.

Friends gathered at our house this weekend for eating and drinking purposes—and by that I mean came on Saturday and ate and drank for 24 hours—and on Sunday morning I was pulling out all kinds of liqueurs for tasting and testing.  We came upon Root, and all agreed that it was tasty, but what to do?  Several combinations that I attempted were poured down the drain without even being offered to the group.  It was a tough one to crack. (The liqueur’s own website seems a bit at a loss as to how it might be used in a cocktail.  Their suggestions are kind of slack.)

Then one of us applied his analytical skills to the problem: what does one do with root beer anyway?  A root beer float!

And thus the problem was solved.  Behold, the Milk Root!

The Milk Root

• 1 oz Root liqueur
• 1 oz brandy
• 1/2 oz Tuaca or other vanilla liqueur (optional but recommended)
• 2 scoops vanilla ice cream (we prefer Kroger’s Private Selection Double Vanilla)
• 2-3 oz milk

Put it in the blender, smoosh it up, and serve.

(You’d probably be mixing more than one at a time, of course.)

We debated about whether it needed anything else, but finally agreed that it was lovely just as it was.