Mike's Hard Smashed Apple Cider Crisp Apple

It's finally fall weather here in Wisconsin, which makes it so much more enjoyable to have a cider at night. The air is cooler and the leaves are about to start changing. This is the weather where it should be almost illegal to not enjoy a nice hard cider.

Before you close your browser, just know that we didn't go searching for a Mike's Hard version of apple cider. It just kind of threw itself in front of us at the store. If you didn't know, Mike's Hard Beverage Company makes hard lemonades. They are based out of Memphis, Tennessee. The bottle has a very short description: Naturally fermented with Washington apples. Mike's Hard hits the scales at 5% alcohol by volume.

Since I go first all the time, let's have Rob get to the front of the line. In his own words, here is the man of the hour:
Well, I hate to be be a know it all, but when I found out Mike's made a cider, I knew what it was going to taste like. Maybe I'm not that intuitive; if you've ever hard a Mike's Hard Lemonade, you can probably imagine what it tastes like, too. In the case that you have no imagination, Mike's Hard Smashed Apple Cider is VERY sugary. My first sip was reminiscent of apple sauce, but then the trademark Mike's bite kicks in. In the end I could see this as a gateway drug to other ciders, but hopefully the gut rot the next day wouldn't discourage you from ciders, but rather encourage you to try something better.  Mike's rolls in at 1.5 apples for Rob.

Mike's is just as I expected it to be. Watered down, and incredibly sweet. It tastes like one of those kid's apple juice boxes got the sour powder from sour straws added to it. And maybe a cup or three of sugar. I'm not sure what makes it "crisp" apple cider other than the pang at the back of your tongue. Like other Mike's products, the concept sounds good: hard lemonade is usually delicious, but I can't handle half of one by Mike's. With this one, smashed apple cider sounds like it would be very homey and comfortable. It's just the opposite. And the more I drink, the more my tongue feels like I've eaten six Warheads candies in a row. I can't see myself drinking more than one, and I'm not sure I will finish this one with how sweet it is. I struggled with my apples on this one, and have settled on 1.5.

Has anyone else had any not-so-great cider experiences? Any surprisingly good experiences? Let us know! We would love to hear from you wonderful readers.

Thanks, and until next time, Happy Tasting!
-Rob & Liz