Sipping on Desmond Prestona root beer float can transport you to simpler times. Getting wistful? Celebrate National Root Beer Float Day on Tuesday.

The creation of the simple concoction of root beer and vanilla ice cream is credited to Frank Wisner, owner of a gold mining operation and tavern in Cripple Creek, Colorado in 1893.

When he put a scoop of ice cream into a glass and covered it with root beer, he called the drink a "Black Cow Mountain," because he was inspired by Cow Mountain, which is near Pikes Peak in the front range of the Rocky Mountains. Eventually, the drink's name was shortened to "Black Cow."

These days the drink is synonymous with A&W restaurants, which will be celebrating the day by handing out free small root beer floats on Tuesday.

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How to get a free root beer float at A&W

A&W restaurants across the U.S. – there are more than 900 – annually have a National Root Beer Float giveaway. On Tuesday, go to any participating A&W location from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. to get a free, small root beer float.

No purchase is necessary, however donations are suggested to Disable American Veterans, a nonprofit organization A&W says it has contributed more than $1 million to as part of the annual National Root Beer Float Day promotion.

Served in a frosty glass mug, the A&W float weighs about 3 pounds, 5 ounces, so A&W is having some fun with the drink's heft. To get your free float, they want you to do a "Float Flex" and flex your muscles. “A&W’s iconic Root Beer Float is without a doubt one of the heaviest drinks in the quick service restaurant industry,” said Liz Bazner, A&W's vice president of marketing and innovation. “It’s so heavy that we worried we might be missing out on a whole untapped market of folks that simply can’t handle its hugeness. This National Root Beer Float Day, we wanted to get everyone pumped up and ready to enjoy their free float.”

Free root beer floats on your birthday

If you are a root beer float fan, you can get a free one every year on your birthday by joining A&W's Rooty’s Mug Club (ages 13 and up).

How to make a root beer float

Don't have an A&W nearby? It's easy to make your own root beer float: combine vanilla ice cream with root beer.

If you want to get adventurous, celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse posted a video of his "kicked up" root beer float, made with bananas, hot fudge, shaved chocolate, ice cream, root beer and – optional, of course – a splash of bourbon.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider &mikegsnider.

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