by Bex & Roz
I wanted to write a post about these ciders as they seem to be the latest popular drink and having sampled a couple, I was intrigued to try a few more so decided I would share my thoughts on them all with you! I had planned on posting this much earlier and I know it's officially no longer summer but maybe we'll have a few more warm evenings to enjoy a cool refreshing cider in the sunshine. :)
My discovery of these new flavoured ciders was all down to Roz & Lauren instagramming their favourites. I was intrigued to try them as I thought I would enjoy a few of the flavours and I was right.
I've decided that all these fruity ciders that have appeared on shelves recently are the new Alcopop - they're colourful, fruity, sweet and delicious as well as being very popular and easy to drink. Just like bacardi breezers used to be about 15 years ago. (Do they still make them?) There are a few I really like, Passionfruit Rekorderlig being my absolute favourite but sadly it seems impossible to find! I discovered it in Sainsbury's in the west end of Glasgow way back in June for our BBQ with Roz and B after the West End Festival Parade but I've never managed to find it again since (even that store appears to have sold out). I was quite upset as I planned on buying a few bottles since it was limited edition but I recently discovered that it is now here to stay! Hoorah! Now, if only I can find some!!!
It seems all of my favourites are the most difficult to find, no place I have checked has more than 3 flavours of Rekorderlig and usually they just have the mixed berry and the strawberry and lime. I'm not a big fan of either of those as they are two of the sweetest and just not my favourite flavours.
Anyway, below you will see a few examples of the ciders on offer, the ones I was able to get hold of more easily. Most of them were bought in supermarkets and one or two in our local off licence. I've mostly kept to the new fruitier versions but have sneaked in a few apple and pear samples too. The Old Rosie was recommended by The Mrs Makes on Twitter and we all agreed it was a nice proper cider with a very refreshing flavour, not at all sweet but still very pleasant. Roz has different favourites to me so has added her thoughts in italics next to the ones she's tried so you get both of our opinions! :)
I absolutely hated the Gaymers cider and was so disappointed as I really thought I'd like the cherry & apple flavoured pear cider. Sadly it tasted very artificial and not at all nice. The Bulmers Bold Black Cherry was the same - pretty rank I'm afraid, we didn't drink much of either of those two bottles.
One that I actually discovered last summer is the Kopparberg Elderflower & Lime. As with all the Kopparberg ciders (the pear one is too sweet even for me), it is very sweet but I do like it and I found if I added a squeeze of lime, it is much nicer and more refreshing. I've only tried this cider once and I was disappointed with it. I really like elderflower and was looking forward to this being fresh and fruity but it just tasted odd to me, perhaps a bit artificial. I didn't think to squeeze some fresh lime in the drink like Bex did and I'm pretty sure I never even finished the bottle.
I wanted to write a post about these ciders as they seem to be the latest popular drink and having sampled a couple, I was intrigued to try a few more so decided I would share my thoughts on them all with you! I had planned on posting this much earlier and I know it's officially no longer summer but maybe we'll have a few more warm evenings to enjoy a cool refreshing cider in the sunshine. :)
My discovery of these new flavoured ciders was all down to Roz & Lauren instagramming their favourites. I was intrigued to try them as I thought I would enjoy a few of the flavours and I was right.
I've decided that all these fruity ciders that have appeared on shelves recently are the new Alcopop - they're colourful, fruity, sweet and delicious as well as being very popular and easy to drink. Just like bacardi breezers used to be about 15 years ago. (Do they still make them?) There are a few I really like, Passionfruit Rekorderlig being my absolute favourite but sadly it seems impossible to find! I discovered it in Sainsbury's in the west end of Glasgow way back in June for our BBQ with Roz and B after the West End Festival Parade but I've never managed to find it again since (even that store appears to have sold out). I was quite upset as I planned on buying a few bottles since it was limited edition but I recently discovered that it is now here to stay! Hoorah! Now, if only I can find some!!!
It seems all of my favourites are the most difficult to find, no place I have checked has more than 3 flavours of Rekorderlig and usually they just have the mixed berry and the strawberry and lime. I'm not a big fan of either of those as they are two of the sweetest and just not my favourite flavours.
Anyway, below you will see a few examples of the ciders on offer, the ones I was able to get hold of more easily. Most of them were bought in supermarkets and one or two in our local off licence. I've mostly kept to the new fruitier versions but have sneaked in a few apple and pear samples too. The Old Rosie was recommended by The Mrs Makes on Twitter and we all agreed it was a nice proper cider with a very refreshing flavour, not at all sweet but still very pleasant. Roz has different favourites to me so has added her thoughts in italics next to the ones she's tried so you get both of our opinions! :)
I absolutely hated the Gaymers cider and was so disappointed as I really thought I'd like the cherry & apple flavoured pear cider. Sadly it tasted very artificial and not at all nice. The Bulmers Bold Black Cherry was the same - pretty rank I'm afraid, we didn't drink much of either of those two bottles.
One that I actually discovered last summer is the Kopparberg Elderflower & Lime. As with all the Kopparberg ciders (the pear one is too sweet even for me), it is very sweet but I do like it and I found if I added a squeeze of lime, it is much nicer and more refreshing. I've only tried this cider once and I was disappointed with it. I really like elderflower and was looking forward to this being fresh and fruity but it just tasted odd to me, perhaps a bit artificial. I didn't think to squeeze some fresh lime in the drink like Bex did and I'm pretty sure I never even finished the bottle.
My absolute favourite (of the ones I am able to find!) is the peach & apricot Rekorderlig cider. It smells amazing and tastes just lovely. It is quite sweet but I just love the flavour. It does remind me of Peach Bacardi Breezers which used to be a favourite of mine when alcopops were all the rage during my student days. That's what caused me to draw the conclusion that these fruity ciders are the new alcopops.
I know Roz really likes the Mango and Raspberry and if I were to rank them it would be fairly high up but again just a bit too far on the sweet side and the bright pink colour puts me off slightly as well. (Something I noticed was that there didn't seem to be any information about what colourings, if any, were used in these bottles. There wasn't even a list of ingredients.). Yeah the Mango and Raspberry is probably my joint favourite, I don't think it tastes overly sweet at all, in fact for me the Peach and Apricot is boarding on a bit sweet for me! It just shows you that it's all down to personal taste :)
The single bottle of passionfruit cider I tasted back in June was divine. Very crisp and refreshing but still sweet and very flavoursome. I also liked that it wasn't a crazy purple colour but just clear and full of bubbles! :) I completely agree! The Passionfruit is my other joint favourite. It's made with pear cider (rather than apple) and it's so gluggable, very refreshing and maybe tastes a bit too much like juice...very easy to drink, especially in the sun at a BBQ eating yummy food :)
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| The yummiest cider ever! |
We all agreed that the Stella Artois "Cidre"s were both very delicious. Again, a much more traditional flavour with a crispness and not sweet. Even Nik liked the pear cidre and he isn't a fan of any other pear ciders we've tried in the past (Kopparberg, Bulmers and Magners). The Rekorderlig pear was quite nice too, sweeter than the Stella but nowhere near as sweet as the others I've mentioned. The only Bulmers one we vaguely liked was the pressed red grape. Again, a bit bright pink like the Mango and Raspberry Rekorderlig but less sweet.
The wild berry was quite nice, with a little more natural looking colour and quite a decent taste.
The only ones I would say actually really taste like the fruit they claim are the pear and apple ones pictured, the peach and apricot and the lime and elderflower (and the passionfruit if you can ever find it! Can you tell I'm bitter about that!? lol). The rest just taste "fruity" to me.
So those are my rather un-technical verdicts. (Please note, I did not drink all of these ciders in one night! In fact I only ever had one in an evening. We of course promote sensible drinking.)
Bex & Roz xx
1 comment:
I'll admit it... I'm a cider snob! I'm not a fan of supersweet fruity ones... I think childhood holidays in Devon, Somerset and Dorset taught me the joys of small producer cider. I love slightly cloudy, crisp ones that are ever so slightly dry, especially with a ploughmans style lunch. Heaven!
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