Sheppy’s “Original cloudy cider” review- (8.5/10) “Well-balanced, delightfully tart drink. No real USP, means the drink is good rather than excellent”.
The Good
“Fairly practical”.
“Natural, tangy smell”,
“Good natural acidity level”.
“Natural taste”.
“Carbonation light, as promised”.
“Plenty of natural sweetness”.
“Lasting natural aftertaste”.
“Very smooth taste”.
“Sweetness and acidity well balanced”.
“Great medium mouthfeel”.
“Full-flavoured”.
The Bad
“Lacking character and USP”.
“Lacking the dryness promised”.
“Weak smell”.
“Expensive”.
“Bottle design weak”.
“Sourness too strong later on in the bottle”.
Packaging
The packaging is far more bright and cheerful than it’s 200 year anniversary cousin, reviewed 2 weeks ago.
The year of establishment of 1816, still takes centre stage on the bottle.
For more extensive history of Sheppy’s you’d be better served exploring my last review ( see link below) no pun intended…
The 200 year anniversary cousin had more to it than history though. In fact it was quite a revelation for a cider maker I hadn’t previously heard of, to stamp it’s authority on quality cider. Here’s what I had to say …
(9.25/10) – “Freshly balanced, with a unique combination of luscious attributes.”
With that score and summary, today’s drink does have some living up to. This week the bottle pitches it as “Traditional, light and fruity”, I’d therefore want woody character as seen last time, and subtle fruity flavour with plenty of natural sweetness. The bottle rear adds “cloudy apple juice” has been used for “hazy” character. In terms of my previously reviewed cloudy ciders, 2 Weston’s, and 1 Bulmer’s, all feature a certain level of acidity. I am therefore hopeful for a lasting natural tang here.
Aswell as this, “medium dry”, and “lightly sparkling” are added for a fair complement of expectations. Fortunately, most common cider traits can be predicted without the Sheppy website’s tasting notes. They are still being scribed at the time of this review. This is a first for any cider I have previously reviewed. See for yourself with the sources link below.
How long does it really take to describe what a cider tastes like ? Well, I should know …
In practical terms, the drink is 2.3 units, 500ml, and 4.5% ABV. Whilst this may appease people drinking cider purely for it’s taste, it isn’t going to provide much of an alcohol effect. This won’t help fans of maximising enjoyment from drinking within sensible limits. I’d suggest 2 of these would be the ideal for those purposes, although at 4.6 units, this would put you slightly over safe limits after the full second bottle.
Since this is slightly weaker than last reviews offering, it is slightly more practical than that, however. Again, I got this on introductory offer, which only set me back £1.67. For those elephants in the room, you’ll remember that this is exactly the same price as last review. 2 would be £3.34, which is still expensive though.
To cheer you up a little, Cidersmiths Harry masters Jersey “craft” was £2.19 from Waitrose, making it considerably steeper in cost for safe limits.
Without further ado, Lets see what my second Sheppy’s offering has to offer.
Smell
The smell certainly suggested tang early on. It was rather weak, implying light sparkle. The smell dissipated fairly quickly though, and didn’t last long. It wasn’t especially potent or memorable, yet was natural.
Taste
The taste began as a moderate appley tang. One which tasted, natural and fruity. The taste was highly smooth, and faded into a tarter body, before the sweeter aftertaste. Sweetness level was good from the word go, yet was complemented well by natural apple bite.
The aftertaste lasted well on the tongue, but didn’t shout dryness. For that matter, it didn’t seem dry at all. This was in spite of medium dryness being promised on the bottle.
On the next few sips, things stayed as “rich and fresh” apple. The flavour had plenty of lively tang to lift your spirits. It didn’t possess the level of character I had come to expect from Sheppy’s, but was good at providing a high quality apple product.
The drink was very well balanced between acidity and sweetness though, which remained throughout consumption. Whilst the mouthfeel was only medium, the flavour was more than strong enough to make it seem full-bodied, for all intents and purposes. I was very happy with the taste and it’s non-sickly nature. This made the drink acceptable for a drinking session, rather than simply a “stand alone” vessel.
After a time, the drink began to taste a little sour though, suggesting tartness was slightly overpowering.
Summary
Well-balanced, delightfully tart drink. No real USP, means the drink is good, rather than excellent.
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Sources
https://www.sheppyscider.com/products/sweet-ciders/original-cloudy/
More on cider:
The last Sheppy’s review
https://reasea.org/2019/05/26/sheppys-200-special-edition-cider-review-9-25-10-freshly-balanced-with-a-unique-combination-of-luscious-attributes/
Sainsbury’s low alcohol cider featuring information on Sheppy cider
https://reasea.org/2018/12/14/sainsburys-low-alcohol-cider-review-better-than-apple-juice-but-lacking-the-complexity-and-flavour-depth-of-good-cider-6-0-10/
Our Recent Angioletti Secco review
https://reasea.org/2019/05/12/angioletti-secco-cider-review-8-25-10-strong-performer-in-refreshing-nature-could-have-used-some-dryness-and-uniqueness-though/
Tags: weekly cider reviews, reaseaorg, reaseareviews, reasonedandseasoned, est1816, Angioletti, mediumdry, mediumciderreviews, Sheppy’s, sheppyscloudycider, sheppysreview, cloudycider, somersetcider, Taunton, 200 yearanniversary, lowalcoholcider, lightlysparkling, 2019cider, 2019ciderreviews, 4.5%abv, 2.3units, 500ml,
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