Experiments gone wrong

Okay, I had wanted to try to make a root beer-ish concoction.

Picked up some sassafrass. Star Anise. Licorice root. Dried wintergreen. Added some juniper berries, cloves and a quarter stick of cinnamon. Added 1.5 cups dark brown sugar. Brought to a boil and steeped.

Poured off a glass and put in the freezer for a quick taste. Yuck!!!!
Tried it again an hour later. Yuck!!!

All I can say is that perhaps starting with a recipe would have been a good idea. I went way too heavy on the licorice. I didn't bother adding yeast and carbing it. Poured it down the drain and figured better luck next time.

So - there are lots of recipes out on things that worked. What have you made that sounded like a good idea, but turned out horribly wrong?

Doesn't *sound* like it would have been too bad. Did you make a syrup, or was it mostly water? If it's a syrup, taste test it with some carbonated water to see how it works.

(Even storebought syrups give that Ick reaction from me if I try them straight, and even in flat water, but mixed, it tastes better)

No - it was one gallon, ready to carb and drink. I did two ounces Indian sarsaparilla, one ounce licorice, 1/2 ounce Star Anise, one ounce wintergreen, a couple juniper berries (maybe six), a couple cloves (maybe five). One and a half cups dark brown sugar. A teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Brought the water to a boil and let it steep for thirty minutes, put the pot into cold water to bring the temp down, put it in a one gallon bottle and topped off with water to bring it back up to a full gallon.

The licorice flavor was over-powering. I guess a little goes a very long way!

Yikes. Good to know. I'm not a fan of a licorice flavor myself either. Can't really stand that or regular anise.

most of the extracts call for 1-2 oz for 2.5 gallons, so you probably just made it too rich. might be able to water it down?