Westons’ Scrumpy cloudy cider review (7.5/10)
The Good
” Great level of tangy acidity”.
” Pleasant full bodied and strong flavour”.
” Natural and fruity taste”.
” Great value”
The Bad
” Not enough carbonation”.
” Astringency in the aftertaste”.
” No dryness as is claimed”.
” Sweetness a little lacking”.
” Average branding”.
Packaging
The packaging revealed the beautiful murky and pale yellow liquid with a scene of a horse and plough. At a glance it appeared almost identical in appearance to old Rosie which was also classed as a scrumpy.
The place of origin is the same; The Much Marcle farm near Ledbury in Herefordshire. It is clear to see this is a Westons’ product which is usually a positive for the drinking experience. The year 1880 was stamped as always on the bottleneck.
On closer inspection you can detect some difference however between this and Old Rosie such as 3.8 units from the souped up 7.5% ABV vs the 7.3% ABV of Old Rosie for the same 500ml bottle size. The scene on the bottle front included an apple cart in addition to the horse and cart previously mentioned instead of the Aveling and Porter steamroller shown on old Rosie.
The traditional element and cloudiness from the blurb stands out in both products however although the scrumpy cloudy does not seem to have the same quaint backstory.
While stories are great, whether it is worth the extra 55p hike from this £1.25 from aldi bottle versus the £1.80 for old Rosie we shall see. At this price it blew Savannah out the water at £2.40 for the required 2 to achieve the recommended limit and was only slightly pricier Capel road.
Expectations were based on the label which stated dry, full, fruity, cloudy and sparkling. It did not state the strength in the same way old Rosie did but other than this, the description was much the same. It just lacked the story. Comparing these drinks is perhaps like comparing free range eggs with an old family raised, chicken produced, free range egg. The product is perhaps the same but the story entices you in more with the latter.
Perhaps then the branding could be improved and the packaging certainly was not as striking as Old Rosie so perhaps needs work.
Smell
After a short strong fizz, amongst a steamy mist lay the smooth and fresh smell of sweet apple. This was very pleasant and did not feel artificial in any way.
After a while this was no longer apparent, although a weaker aftertone was still there for a good 30 seconds. This encouraged me to take a sip.
Taste
The taste was rather acidic with good tang without any real dryness early on. There was highly limited carbonation. The aftertaste was not highly pleasant and a little astringent. I feel sweetness was a little lacking to balance this. There was however a pleasant warmth perhaps due to the high alcohol content. As for being full-bodied, I would have to agree with this since the drink was in no way watery. It did possess a pleasant feel in the mouth and had a strong flavour as a result. Dryness did not develop throughout drinking which was slightly disappointing since this was claimed to be the case.
The drink did possess a very natural flavour which, whilst more tangy than fruity, did certainly resemble a field more than a factory, which was good.
Summary
A pleasantly fruity and tangy cider which was full bodied. It was great value but lacked the sweetness and dryness expected and required. There was no carbonation to enhance the tang. It was strong and natural in flavour however.
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