The BF ordered some Root last week. It smells incredibly like a medicinal, delicious root beer. The spices in it make it a great spirit to have around for the colder weather in fall.
One of the first drinks he made with Root was a John Wilkes Booth (recipe here). It’s spicy without being too overpowering (I have him go easy on the cinnamon), but easy to drink. The cocktail really does require a fine strainer though, because it’s no fun drinking with chunks of cinnamon stick floating around.
ps – The recipe on the site isn’t as good as the recipe in the video – the video doubles the amount of booze, says “a couple of orange slices”, and also clarifies that you need to double-strain (i.e., use a fine strainer after the hawthorne strainer). Also, while the printed recipe specifies a particular whisky (Famous Grouse blended Scotch), the guy in the video uses Bulleit, and says you can use any bourbon of your choosing. I made it with Rittenhouse Rye last time… we’ll have to do some more testing, but I think it’s actually slightly better with rye than bourbon.