Cider notes

I plan to periodically add cider tasting notes to this post. At present, I've a dozen or so different bottles to try. . .

Tooheys 5 Seeds (Australia. 5%. Tasted 25th Feb). Clear, fresh and crisp, but also short and undistinguished.

Samuel Smith's Organic Cider (Yorkshire, England. 5%. Tasted 25th Feb. Pictured above). Notably more golden, the bottle had no dates on it, so I am not sure if this is representative or just approaching it's end. More complex and bruised than the 5 Seeds, it is rounded, and there is a hint of oxidation, malt and nuttiness.

Mercury Dry Cider (Once Tasmanian, now part of the Fosters empire. 5.2%. Tasted 26th Feb). Like the 5 Seeds, this is fresh, zippy and clean, though the nose is more sulphurous. Much of its appeal is in the initial, citrus, green apple kiss. I've temporarily put my scoring hat away, but (for the simple and pert) I think this is better than the Tooheys, and a little behind the Pipsqueak, which it self is a long way behind Montieth's crushed apple cider.

The Cidery Sweet Rosie (Bridgetown, Western Australia. 3.5%. Tasted 26th Feb). The winner so far. . . This is lovely and complex. Mushroom and sourdough, this is a wino's cider, it smells of autolysed yeast, while in the mouth the bead has enough delicacy to give a satisfying creaminess. I wonder if this how my bottle of Eric Bordelet sidre should have tasted. . .

Bulmers Original (Australian and imported ingredients. 4.7%. Tasted 1st March). Bronze in colour, with few other distinguishing features.

Wychwood Green Goblin Oak aged cider (Apples from Somerset, UK. 6%. Tasted 6th March). Golden brown with grated apple, ginger and sticking plaster. Another cider (along with the Eric Bordelet) which seems to rely of brett for some added character.

Magners Original Irish Cider (Ireland. 4.5%. Tasted March 7). Clear and orange, this is lovely and quite delicate. It has a nice creaminess in the mouth and it reminds me a little of the Sweet Rosie, which has been my favourite so far. The slightest hint of brett on the nose and in the mouth, but seemingly far less than the Wychwood.

Aspall Crisp Draught (Suffolk, England. 5.5%. Tasted March 26). Comes in an attractive, long necked bottle. Clear and bright, this is still slightly mushroom and mouse in scent. Lovely in the mouth, this might just displace the Sweet Rosie as my favourite cider so far. . .

Westons Old Rosie Cloudy Scrumpy (England. 7.3%. Tasted April 1 2010). More weighty and more defined than the above examples, this smells of ginger and dried apples, while in the mouth there is a zippy lemon zest and something approaching complexity. The finish is quite dry and slightly adhesive. In terms of preference, maybe a nose ahead of the Aspall.

Westons Premium Organic cider (England. 6.5%. Tasted April 2). Clear and bronzed, but also overtly mousy and brett affected. Lacks the charm and depth of the Old Rosie

St Hellier Pear Cider (Jersey Cider Company UK, 5%. Tasted April 27 2010). Clear and pale, this smells like a chemical factory of esters and freshly chewed bubblegum. An extra-ripe, slightly bruised pear. Despite tasting of pear skins, this is rounded, sweet and perhaps a little short.

Westons Premium Organic Pear Cider (UK, 6%. Tasted May 7 2010). Much less pear scented and flavoured than the St Hellier. Somewhat short, bland and ordinary.

Thathers Katy Medum Dry (Somerset UK. 7.4%. approx $A9/500ml bottle. Tasted 11th August 2010). Pleasing, though a little short, which of course means I'm still wearing my wino blinkers. There's a hint of peanut skin and grip to the finish of this fresh, mostly clean cider.

Thatchers Old Rascal (Somerset UK. 4.5%. Tasted 9th October 2010). Fair and free of fault, but it still seems limp and bland.

Rekorderlig Premium Apple Cider (Sweden. 4.5%. $6.50 for 500mls. Tasted October 2010). Extraordinary scent and profile, this stands apart from all other ciders I've tried to date. Clear and golden to the eye, the nose reminds me most of aeroplane jelly (in particular raspberry) and bubble gum. Later still banana candy and surprisingly - ripe pear. Only much later can I clearly discern a slice of slightly brown cut apple. It's a riot of scent. Seemingly still to the eye, all the CO2 is dissolved, ready to please the tongue. It's zippy, pure and quite intense, though again I got the impression I was tasting jelly. . .

Rekorderlig Pear Cider (Sweden. 4.5%. $6.50 for 500mls). Like the apple version above, this is bursting with scent and confection like charm. This time though it's more a lime cordial and later a perfectly ripe Beurré Bosc pear.

Henney's Dry Cider (Herefordshire, UK, 6%, 500ml bottle. Tasted 1st November 2010). Clear and golden to the eye, this smells of mouse and mushroom, its slightly green edged and tart in the mouth, crunchy, short and then nothing.

Old Mout Scrumpy (Nelson, New Zealand, 8%, approx $5 for 330mls. Tasted Nov 3 2010). A large part of the appeal of wine is that the fermented product can take on so many unusual dimensions. Cider in comparison seems far less expressive, though this particular example is at least one exception. It's floral with rose petal and peppermint. Turkish delight. Clean and crisp in the mouth, the texture is pleasing, with a suggestion of grip and more phenolics that most ciders I've recently tried.

John Kepplers Cider (Ireland, 6%, 500ml can - perfect for cider butt chicken. Tasted August 25 2011). Clean with no mouse. Bruised apple, spiced, bright and short.