Original Cloudy

I bought this cider on a special price in Waitrose for £1.76, so I can’t complain about that. It’s very light on fizz, it’s not still as some cloudy ciders are and is a tad on the sweet side of the medium-sweet see-saw. It’s better than Thatcher’s Haze which is good and it’s very light in colour, like champagne (but cloudy). It’s tartness is very light are are the tannins and the light, refreshing apple taste is a tad watery. On first sip it lightly fizzes on your tongue and the length is amazing - lasts a long time and that’s one of the plus points on the cider as the aftertaste is also very pleasant and fruity. At 4.5%ABV you could have a go on this stuff all day at a BBQ - or as a session cider - but for me the sweetness would eventually catch up and possibly push it overboard. Sheepy’s Cloudy has a great nose - very fruity and the smooth taste has a real dollop of toffee to it which aids the complexity of this otherwise ‘ok’ entry. It’s hard to find something bad about it - and it’s hard to find something remarkable about it too. It was great to try but I wouldn’t rush out to buy it again anytime soon as I’ve had better cloudy ciders elsewhere. It’s ok in all areas really - but nothing ‘special’ either - other than the Waitrose price at the moment (Aug ‘22) or £1.76. 3/5 for me as it’s a tad too sweet and doesn’t have much going on other than it’s quaffable, easy to drink and fairly priced for a Sheppy’s cider.

Light cloudy colour, light carbonation. Light sweet funk on the nose. Very nice sweet fruity cider. Although sweet it isn't sickly which is the main danger with sweet ciders. Slightly crisp finish which balances the sweetness of the cider.

Yellow colour, slightly hazy with moderate fizz. Light apple peel aroma. A little toffee in the flavour.

pleasant semi-sweet cider. Light aroma, slightly hazy, very quaffable

Pale yellow, and cloudy, with only a light, apple candy aroma. Crisp, sharp, under-ripe fruit flavour, with little depth or complexity, and little aftertaste. Disappointing, and not a patch on most Sheppy's ciders. Easy to drink and sessionable, though.

(Tasted on September 24, 2023) Sheppy's Original Cloudy Cider (500ml, 4.5%). Cloudy cider and can be achieved in two different ways: a) by non-filtering, or b) by adding naturally cloudy apple juice to the filtered cider. The Sheppy's opts for b), which may also account for the comparatively low ABV. They don't tell us the percentage of juice they add though. This is a medium sweet cider, lightly carbonated. The colour is medium-hazy yellow with green inflections (not orange, as some reviewers claim). The aroma is simple, compared to the cloudy cider from Weston's. Sweetish apple and a bit of lemon, maybe some white grapes, too. On the palate, the start is very fruity indeed, much more so than on the Weston 's. And a tad sweeter. It gets more lemony towards the finish, and again there's a touch of white grapes which makes it taste almost like a "Federweisser" (a partially fermented young wine popular in Germany and Italy that goes down particularly well with onion tarte). After all the juiciness that aftertaste is drier, and again lemony. This cider isn't matured in oak. The palate is clean, light, and straightforward. But it's eminently quaffable and invites you to drink more. And, at only 4.5% ABV, you could. 7/10.

Pale yellow cloudy cider. Light and fruity which I found very pleasant. Very easy to drink, could very easily drink several.