a big frosty mug of olde-time root beer

in 1876,  Charles Hires first sold commercial root beer to the public. ingredients in early root beers and sarsaparillas included allspice,  birch bark,  coriander,  juniper,  ginger,  wintergreen,  hops,  burdock root, and many other therapeutic herbs and spices.  the outcome of Hire's herbal mixture resulted in a combination of over twenty-five herbs,  berries and roots that he used to flavor a carbonated soda water drink. This version of a root beer beverage was first introduced to the public at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial exhibition.