Medium Dry Cider 4%

Let’s start with having a good sniff. There’s a faint hint of earth and old leather, perhaps a hint of toffee - but I really had to give it a good sniff. More than once. This cider is made by ‘Brothers Cider’, based in Shelton Mallet in Somerset. You may have seen Brothers’ cider in supermarkets around the UK selling mostly, a fruit-based cider range. Although there is a ‘Festival Apple’ cider but I’ve never been able to find it in a can. The Brothers started selling their cider near the Jazz Tent at the Glastonbury Festival in 1995 and such was the demand, they expanded beyond the festival boundaries into pubs and supermarkets. The four brothers are generational cidermakers over 14 generations back to 1658! Gabriel Showerings was their uncle way back - Showerings are still going to this day (see my review of their 3x Vintage blend. Bloody lovely!) Anyway, this Compton Orchard medium dry cider is pretty standard. It’s what you’d expect from a supermarket cider but it does deliver. It’s pretty acidic and punchy with a dry, sharper edge on first sip - and with plenty of fizz it hits. It’s drier than it is sweet with a medium to full body and medium length travelling straight down the middle of the tongue and barely touching the sides. The aftertaste is slightly sour but it does mellow leaving a satisfying experience. This cider is a blend of apples so it’s hard to pick out a unique, distinct flavour other than apple itself. There’s not much else going on and served cold on a summer’s day it’ll hit the spot. Add ice and you’re really going to get somewhere. It looks great in the glass with a deep golden hue and the hefty fizz definitely helps swell the flavour around in your mouth. This cider is one of the ‘drier’ ones I’ve had from a 440ml can bit it does also come in a 2litre plastic bottle. You can but it in Tesco, Morrison’s and various corner shops in the UK, so you should be able to get hold of it quite readily. The 2litre bottle comes in at only £2 and £2.30 for 4x440ml cans (if you buy from a big supermarket, smaller stores, including Tesco and Morrison’s charge a bit more). There’s nothing remarkable and it’s a tad syrupy - but what else would you expect from a cider of this kind? It’s only 4% so you could easily ‘session’ on this cider as well. I did once taste this cider alongside Henney’s Dry (Herefordshire not Somerset) and it wasn’t that dissimilar with Henney’s Dry just having the better edge on taste, depth and complexity. Overall, it does the job and is pleasant enough. For the price, it’s hard to beat and that’s probably it’s major feature, it’s a really good cider for the cost and you’d be doing well to find a better one under its price point. 3/5.