Sassafras – from Root Beer to “Root” Liqueur

I have to admit that I can’t always make a positive ID of the trees that I see in the woods, but I never have trouble recognizing a Sassafras tree, which has such a distinctive collection of leaf shapes that anyone can tell when they’re looking at a Sassafras.  This tree sports three  different leaf shapes – an oval, a “mitten” and a “three lobe”.

Early Colonists found this native tree to be both useful and delicious.  The leaves were dried and ground into a powder called “file” which is an important ingredient in gumbo.  More deliciously,  Sassafras root was used to make alcoholic “root teas,” based on recipes from the Native Americans.

During Prohibition, these alcoholic teas were banned.  Not to be deterred, Charles Hires, from Philadelphia, found a way to make the first “Root Beer.”  He kept the flavor, which came from Sassafras root and about 30 other wild roots and herbs,  took out the alcohol and replaced it with carbonation. He proudly served this at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition and it has been popular ever since, though modern root beer no longer contains actual sassafras root.

There has been a revival of the old alcoholic root tea in the form of a liqueur called “Root,” which is created from cane sugar, birch bark, black tea, orange and lemon juices, various spices and sassafras “essence.”   The FDA, several years ago, banned the use of true sassafras, which they consider a possible carcinogen.  This is one of the few true American liqueurs and one of the few spirits that is certified organic.  Reviews are enthusiastic and people say that it really does taste like old fashioned root beer.  It’s a shame that it can no longer be made from actual sassafras roots, but at 80 Proof, it probably won’t matter much after a glass or two anyway.