Angry orchard cider review (8.5/10)
” Well balanced, sweet yet tangy”
” A little dryness and cost effectiveness away from the ideal cider”
” Slightly more carbonation desirable”
Packaging
At 1.59 per bottle with 2.5 units contained this is quite expensive to get close to the recommended limit realistically. It means you would have to fork out 3.18 to bring yourself a little over. This makes the cider more expensive than many others including pure hopped, merry down, Orchard and Savannah. The 500 ml bottle size and 5 percent alcohol percentage therefore may require a little attention.
That said I managed to get around this by buying another small can of a different variety.
Because it is even more pricy than Savannah which I very much enjoyed there is certainly nowhere for it to hide.
Anyway …
The story tells of a crisp and refreshing cider promising of sweetness, subtle dryness and balance.
It claims to taste of apples possessing a slightly sweet and ripe feel. The scent is also specified as being of fresh apples so I am looking forward to the (appliness if that is indeed a word) of this beverage.
It’s origin is stated as the USA which I have read are reputed for sweeter eating apples and less so for traditional West Country cider apples. I am therefore expecting a drink which lacks acidity and dryness due to these qualities typically being characteristic of English cider apples.
The ingredients list does detail Malic acid however suggesting this may have been added in afterwards to compensate for lack of acidity.
Either way it will be interesting to broaden my horizons with my first cider review of a drink which has been produced in America.
Smell
The smell on opening is typical of most ciders. It has a smoothness reminding me of the joys of merrydown and it’s violin playing fox. It is fairly abrupt and not as potent as some other cider varieties. It does however possess a slight freshness not experienced by some of the more artificial varieties. You can detect some acidity and possibly slight sweetness.
Taste
The taste possesses a crescendo of tang immediately fading into a symphony of sweet Apple. The aftertaste after one sip is that of fruit and sweetness. This early impression suggests that it may persist after a few more sips. The sweetness is highly pleasant yet the tangy nature from the acid balances the drink very nicely. Towards the end of the bottle the apple identity becomes clearer and feels distinctly like a Granny Smith, (one of my favourites), which is clearly a real positive and explains the drinks traits and balance. Stated as a hard cider I would expect a reasonable level of dryness. This is hardly present and not really discernible for my perhaps, slightly inexperienced palette.
The drink possesses a slight froth suggesting carbonation yet this isn’t noticeable at all through consumption since it is perhaps disguised by the confident tang of acidity.
This helps to give the drink maturity and overall the drink does not feel lacking in anything. The slight dry aftertaste expected, as suggested by the bottle, is not present which is such a shame. Carbonation to a greater extent may enhance the tang and flavour sensation even further and could potentially make the cider close to the perfect drink. This truly does appease my palette without taking any prisoners or feeling immature like Bulmers or Rekorderlig. This is because these are too closely related to non-alcoholic drinks such as appleade in my opinion.
Summary
Overall angry orchard is a greatly well balanced, sweet yet tangy ( acidic) cider which is a slight dryness and fizz injection away from my perfect cider. Perhaps this is the best cider I have tasted and since carbonation is not stressed on the bottle even this may be excused.
Greater carbonation, blending with a drier apple to sprinkle in a few more tannins and making the alcohol content more closely aligned with the recommended government guidelines would complete this highly accomplished mature alcohol. It is quite simply a must taste if you have a sweet tooth or are a haribo tangfastics enthusiast. If you are looking for a dry or unsweet variety however then this will not be for you.
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