Tasting

When you sample a cider there is so much more than apples in the flavor. Classifications used to describe a cider are sweet, medium, or dry. Dryness means all the sugar has fermented out with a lack of sweetness. The flavor spectrum has three axes; sweet, tannic, and acidic, in which each can range from high to low.
-The typical commercial brand is pretty bland, balanced with a slight sweetness.
-A traditional farmhouse brand is big and full-bodied, sweet, acidic, and tannic.
-A ‘keeved’ cider is typically full-bodied with a lot of natural sweetness and tannins.
-A Quebecois Cidre du Glace is massively sweet with no tannin and balanced acids.


Secondary flavors one can identify in a cider:
–Fruit Cider may also resemble many flavors such as citrus, banana, melon, pear, and vanilla.
–Funk A term used to describe good or bad flavors that naturally occur in a cider.
–Floral A perfumed character resembles specific flowers like a rose, geranium, or orange blossom.
–Caramelized Some cider styles have hints of caramel sweetness, butterscotch, toffee, or dried fruit like figs or raisins.
–Butter As cider ages in the bottle a pleasing butteriness develops as the secondary malolactic fermentation breaks down the acidity.

The cider should be served chilled, 46-50 degrees.

Tasting Cider in five easy steps:

  • Look at the cider in your glass. Distinguish if it is light and clean or heavy and rich.
  • Swirl and Sniff the cider in your glass. Swirling will help release the aromas for you to smell.
  • Sip from your glass and be sure to get a good mouthful. The goal is to hit as many flavor receptors as you can as you focus on what’s happening in your mouth. Allow yourself to make associations with the flavors you are experiencing.
  • Swallow to receive the final finish.
  • Repeat the process to see how the cider evolves with each sip as you consume more. Subtle flavors may begin to develop with each new sip.

Cider may be known as the most misunderstood drink there is in the world dating back to the antiquity. Once revered on the British dinner table as ‘English Wine,’ it has also been a form of payment to farm workers. Cider has also been described as rough and associated with vagrants and underage tipplers. However, in the last five or so years it has enjoyed an extraordinary renaissance in popularity.