The Good
“Practical”.
“Natural and warming smell”.
“Some character”.
“Somewhat natural taste”.
“Well balanced”.
“Fairly smooth taste”.
“Pleasant aftertaste of cinnamon”.
The Bad
“Unclear band message”.
“Dull bottle design”.
“Expensive”.
“Carbonation too light”.
“Weak tang”.
“No dryness”.
“Lacking sweetness”.
“No bitterness”.
“Weak taste”.
“Thin mouthfeel”.
Note: Virus present when sampling
Packaging
Kopparberg is a town in northern Sweden with approximately 4000 residents. The main employer is the cider producer which was established in 1882. This makes Kopparberg the grandfather of modern day ciders such as Rekorderlig which although still Swedish, has only been made since 1999. This is produced approximately 190 miles south.
Fruity ciders with other fruits in addition to apple, are a common feature of the Kopparberg brand. However, other products without these have been produced, such as the passionately named “Naked Apple”. Today’s offering is the second of the non-stereotypical Kopparberg ciders which I am reviewing. Welcome Kopparberg “Spiced Apple”…
Today offering was £2.20 per bottle, providing 500mls of 4% ABV, equating to 2.0 units. This means that whilst 2 would nicely equate to the top end of the governments old “Do not regularly exceed limit” for men, it was more expensive than Naked Apple (see below) when reviewed, which cost £3.18 for 2 bottles. Thankfully though, it was the same cost as Rose (see below), which also came in at 4% ABV, 500ml, and 2 units per bottle.
There is no getting away from the fact that £4.40 per session is pricey though.
Todays bottle was rather plain. It also lacked a clear backstory, except the assertion that cinnamon was present. Even on the shelf I struggled to notice the whisper of the packaging compared to the symphony of colour provided by the other ciders in the section. Therefore, there is room for improvement in both brand message and bottle design.
It also claims to have a warm, sweet, and woody smell, resulting from the cinnamon used in the recipe, in addition to Apple. This smell is described as both delicate and intense, with the blurb adding the assertion that it can be consumed either hot or cold.
The rest of the bottle description details how to warm up the cider in a pan to serve warm, yet doesn’t give any clues about what flavour to expect, except that of cinnamon.
Whilst I could speculate based on my previous Kopparberg reviews, I’d suggest this may not be fruitful, since this cider has the USP of cinnamon which none of its predecessors have, suggesting some level of originality in the drinking experience. I shall therefore go in largely blind, but expecting the flavour to match the sweet and woody smell.
It’s also tempting to provide 2 reviews to establish the effect of warming up the cider, so I shall specify that today’s bottle was consumed cold.
So now for the sampling …
Smell
The smell was of cinnamon, and was pleasant, yet persistent. Despite the mist fading after a short time, it still released a consistently natural smell.
Taste
On pouring, carbonation appeared moderate, but settled into light effervescence quickly. For me, this was a little too light. The taste continued as predominantly cinnamon, which gave it some character. The acidity appeared very light, and was hardly noticeable, which was a shame. No dryness or bitterness was present either. The taste came through as a bit unusual. It appeared to be like berries and cinnamon, yet didn’t appeal to my taste preferences. It did seem fairly natural though.
Mouthfeel felt rather thin, which meant the taste was rather weak. Despite weak flavour lacking in many elements, this flavour did come through as balanced, with nothing dominating in particular. The taste was also fairly smooth throughout.
Aftertaste persisted for some time, as a faintly warming cinnamon.
Summary
“Distinctive, but dull”.
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Related articles (Swedish ciders)
Kopparberg
Kopparberg Rose review
Kopparberg Naked Apple Review
Rekorderlig
Bottles
Tags: 1882, Kopparberg, Sweden, reaseaorg, reasonedandseasoned, 4% ABV, 2.0 units, 500ml, £2.20, Tesco, benandthegang, blogging, lifestyle, popularposts,
Sources
Drinking guidelines
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Photo edits: reasea.org
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