Trivia: Root beer is made using the root bark of what tree?
Sassafras
Cherry
Chestnut
Sweetgum
Correct Answer: Sassafras
So why is this answer correct? : Sassafras root was once the main flavor ingredient in root beer. Since 1860, traditional root beer was flavored with sassafras, sarsaparilla (a vine), licorice root, mint, nutmeg, and other spices, but the use of sassafras in medicinal beverages by American indigenous people dates back much further. Today, artificial sassafras root flavoring is used for root beers because of questions about the safety of ingesting the real root.