"Really? There's root beer in here?"

Over the weekend I cracked open the pages of the newest member of my cookbook family (yes, we're that close) and tried my hand at the "Root Beer Bundt Cake." 
Baked Authors Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito "weren't looking for just a hint of root beer" but rather an "avalanche of flavor." 
Hmmmm....did I use the wrong brand? Should I have spiked it with some liquor? Did I duck and miss the avalanche completely? Hmmm....
Let's back up a moment. I made the cake on Sunday to bring into the office on Monday. (Perfect I thought. It'll rest overnight and the flavor will intensify. Just like my new friends Matt and Renato suggest!) The cake was fairly simple and the frosting was amazing. Thick and flavorful. I kept tasting the batter along the way, searching for hints of root beer. I think I tasted them only because I was looking for it. I was aware of the flavor so I tasted it. However, I never got that avalanche effect. From the batter at least. Perhaps after it baked!
Out of the oven it looked delish. It took a little bit longer to bake than the recipe recommended but surely that's because my oven is ancient and usually on the fritz. I never tasted the cake (as not to ruin the first impression from my co-workers) so I just made it look pretty and hoped for the best!
Monday arrived and throughout the day I received..."Who made that awesome chocolate cake?" Awesome, yes. Chocolate, not necessarily. I responded with "It's actually a root beer bundt cake." Their response, "Hmmm...I guess there could have been a hint of that. But...it's chocolate right?" This conversation continued with every slice. And while all of the reviews were raves, they were never about the root beer. 
I will most definitely make this cake again - it looked great, tasted great, and had a great texture - but next time I'm going to try some new things. Maybe A&W or MUG instead of Barq's. Maybe I'll hit the hard stuff and find a nice extract or liquor. Either way, I'm aiming for that flavor. I'm going to the mountain and I'm hoping for that avalanche. Come and get me!!