Angry Orchard Cinnful Apple

This week's post is full of other people! Our first other person is the reason why we're trying the Seasonal Cinnful Apple by Angry Orchard. He has been a long time friend of both Rob and I from college, and he is a dedicated DeCider's reader. Randy S. is our first special someone. In his suggestion he said that Cinnful Apple is "pretty good." Thank you, Randy, for the suggestion! 

Angry Orchard Cider Co. is based out of Cincinnati, Ohio, and puts out quite a few special ciders every year for the season. This past summer we just missed their seasonal cider and figured we'd keep our eye out for the fall one. Surprise! It's here! Angry Orchard says: Our Cinnful Apple cider is crisp and refreshing with a spicy twist. The sweet, slightly tart apple flavor is balanced with cinnamon spice, adding a slight heat for a flavor that is truly cinnful. 

It comes in at an almost expected 5% alcohol by volume, and has a very Angry Orchard-esque bottle and label. Take a peek!

Our second other person this week is a guest review! This one comes from our friend Meghan. Meghan drinks her fair share of ciders, as she lives the gluten-free lifestyle. She's become one of my best friends, and Rob kind of gets along with her, too. Okay, yeah, they get along great. We would have had three "other" people today, but Meghan's hubby, Bill, isn't a cider fan and wouldn't have a drink with us. Oh well. Every party needs a pooper...
On to Meghan's comments!
Have you ever tried to swallow a tablespoon full of cinnamon? Well, you can't. Cinnful Apple is about as close as you'll get to swallowing that tablespoon full. With this much cinnamon, you might as well just chew on a cinnamon stick. Although it has a nice fall flavor, drinking more than one is difficult. With that, Cinnful Apple gets a 2.5 apple rating.

Next up we've got Rob.
Off the bat, I was expecting this cider to have quite the kick with the cinnamon. Turns out, it stays relatively smooth. The cinnamon doesn't burn you like when chewing a piece of Big Red. The cider also doesn't seem as sweet thanks to the cinnamon, but it does remain rather tart. Not being the biggest cinnamon fan, I don't think I would be able to drink more than one of these at a time, but the flavor reminds me of apple pie. And who doesn't like pie? Oh yeah, I don't... Cinnful Apple gets 2.5 apples out of five. Although I have had better, I've also had worse.

And last, but not least, little ol' me. Cinnful is dry and quite warm on the tongue. After the first sip, there is so much cinnamon I can feel it on my tongue, and the more I drink, the rougher my tongue feels. Not to be weird, but it makes me think of how a cat's tongue might feel in their own mouth. Thankfully it wasn't a hot sensation that you can get from eating too much cinnamon.  I definitely couldn't drink more than one of these in a night. Or maybe more than one in a week. I was torn on what to give this one because I like how warm and full it makes me feel, but I really am not the biggest fan of how cinnamon-y it is. With that, I give it 2.5 apples. 

It looks as if Cinnful Apple has hit the middle mark this week! Thank you again to both our guests, Randy and Meghan. 

Has anyone else tried Cinnful Apple? What were your thoughts? Too much cinnamon? Not enough? Let us know down below! Hey, that rhymed! 

Until next time, enjoy the brisk fall weather! 

Happy Tasting!

-Rob & Liz 

Ciderboys First Press

Before we get started, sorry this is so late. I, Liz, have had a bit of a difficult week and needed a girls night with a close friend. Poor Rob was left to fend for himself tonight, and I waited until the last possible minute to finish my thoughts on Ciderboys First Press. I've made you wait long enough by slacking, so let's get down to it!

Ciderboys First Press is our second cider by Ciderboys. Our first was an adventure with their Magic Apple, which was a strawberry cider, that got middle-of-the-road scores from both Rob and I. How does First Press match up? Well, this one is claimed to be a "Traditional Hard Cider," per the bottle's label, and hits at 5% alcohol by volume The bottle is much like the one for Magic Apple.

Since I made Rob wait all night for this, let's see what he has to say first! Rob said:
When I first opened the bottle, this cider had a very strong presence. Unlike the Magic Apple which we previously tasted, this has just one flavor, apple. And it's very true to it's name, First Press. The flavor is very strong and bold. It tastes very much like a freshly squeezed red apple and it's rather thick as well. However, the drink does seem to be loaded with sugar which would leave you feeling ill the next day if you had a few the night before. Also, the aftertaste lingers around a bit longer than I would want from something so sweet. This one also falls at 3 apples, like it's sister-cider.

As for little ol' me? Well, First press is about what I had expected it would be. It is quite tart at the beginning, and warms up and gets a bit heavy tasting before the slight sweetness at the end. My first sip reminded me of something along the lines of Jolly-Rancher-Meets-Hot-Cider. Non-alcoholic hot cider, that is. I really didn't fall head over heels for this one, but I would definitely get it for a girls night, or if I wanted something sweet. I don't think I could drink this all the time, though. I struggled on the scoring for this one, because it's not my favorite, but it's definitely not bad. I settled on 3 apples for this first press.

It looks like Ciderboys have given themselves a steady feel, with 3 apples a piece, both times! A steady 3 apple rating is much better than being up and down the board, don't you think?

Have you tried anything by Ciderboys? What did you think of it? We'd love to hear from you! Comments, emails, carrier pigeon, owl, it doesn't matter. Let us know what you think!

Always remember to drink responsibly, and until next time...

Happy Tasting!
-Rob & Liz

Crispin Honey Crisp Artisanal Reserve

Welcome back! It's time for another Cider Adventure. This time it's with a familiar face; our Friend Sam is going to be joining us as we taste a wildly popular brand, Crispin. As I am sure you are aware, just a few weeks ago we did a review for Crispin's Saint Artisanal Reserve, and needless to say we were blown away. Unfortunately our cider stockpile is dwindling, so looks like we are going to need to go get some more! Let's get down to business...

Crispin Honey Crisp hails from Colfax, CA and comes in at 6.5% alcohol by volume, all while being contained in a 22 ounce bottle. Before we get to our own thoughts on Honey Crisp, here is what Crispin themselves had to say about it:
Smooth Operator. Naturally fermented using a premium blend of unpasteurized fresh-pressed apple juice, not from concentrate, with no added malt, spirit or grape alcohols. Experience an earthy, fruity bouquet with an authentic cidery aroma and hints of honey. A yeasty, full-bodied flavor, creamy mouth-feel with a crisp finish and unusual complexity. Honey Crisp Artisanal Reserve, Unflitered Cloudy Hard Cider, uses racked apple-wine smoothed with pure organic honey, with no added sugar, colorants, sorbate or benzoate preservatives. Best served cold for smooth, delicious refreshment.

So I guess I should be polite and let our guest go first. Sam, what did you think? 

I've never been much of a cider person, but it seems like Crispin might have given me a little change of heart. Most ciders that I've tried in the past have been way too sweet and I've never been able to drink more than one of them without getting gut rot. This one though, didn't overdo it and kept me wanting more. The cider flavor was refreshing, but I think my favorite part was the subtle honey aftertaste. I'm a sucker for honey, so this got me pretty easily. All in all, if I were to stumble upon this cider at a bar or in the store, I would buy it for sure. It's definitely worth the try if you haven't had it before. Enjoy!

With that glowing review, Sam gave Crispin Honey Crisp 4.5 apples. 

Looks like Sam is pretty good at this review thing, or he's trying to make us look bad. Liz, it's up to you to let them know we've still got it!

I know we said it's a one-and-done thing, but I've started to take a sniff of my ciders before drinking. The smell of this cider got me so excited. This one is true to their two word opener for the explanation: Smooth Operator. It goes down so smooth and ends with that sweet honey-flavor. Quite a bit of sediment will hit you towards the end of the bottle if you don't give a quick tip upside down before opening it. No, don't shake the cider! Just gently tip it over. If I were Winnie the Pooh, I would have just found my favorite honey pot. 

Liz comes in giving this her highest ever score of 4.5 apples. 

Well now, looks like those two agree on Honey Crisp, can I make it three of a kind?

Our first encounter with Crispin was one to remember. Turns out, they might know what they are doing! As the name implies, Honey Crisp contains honey, but by no means is it the first thing you taste. In fact, you can smell the honey more than you can taste it. Honey fans, fear not, the honey is there, it compliments the cider perfectly in my opinion. It seems to tame the tartness of it and leaves a nice taste in your mouth after you swallow. This cider isn't to sweet which makes it easier to drink and like the Saint, the higher alcohol percentage and larger bottle make this cider extra special.

The highest score I have given out to date went to Honey Crisp's brother, the Saint. And it looks like it is going to stay that way... It comes close, but it's just not as good to me. Honey Crisp gets a respectable 4 out of 5 apples.

So close! All things considered, that's three great scores! Needless to say, if you're out and about and you're craving a cider, look for a Crispin. I know there are more varieties of Crispin out there for us to review, but if you come across one first, let us know what you think of it! Comment below or send us an email at decidersblog@gmail.com

Thanks for joining us Sam, and Happy Tasting!

-Liz & Rob

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

Harpoon Cider

Good evening Cider lovers! It's Wednesday again so it's time for another cider review. Last week we posted one of the better ciders we've come across in our adventures, but this week not so much... But let's not be so negative, let's start with the essential information!

Harpoon Brewery in Boston, MA has brought us the cleverly named Harpoon Cider for this week's tasting. Harpoon Cider is like most other fish in the cider pond, wrapped in a dark brown 12 ounce bottle containing 4.8% alcohol by volume. Harpoon Brewery has this to say about Harpoon Cider:

Our cider is made from pure apple juice, freshly pressed from a blend of local apples. Enjoy!

On to the reviews! Liz is up first:

The first thing I noticed as soon as I opened the bottle before I had even put the bottle to my lips is that it smells like beer. I couldn't smell a hint of cider. I took a sip and it was a bit sweet at first and then all I could taste is iron. The iron taste went away a few seconds after I swallowed, but then my tongue just felt dry as if I'd chugged a glass of very dry red wine that I would normally use for cooking. This wasn't at all what I expected to taste from a cider.  I personally do not like anything dry, and I really can't stand that iron taste. I give Harpoon one lonely, dry apple. 

What did I think? How thoughtful, thanks for asking!

This is a very heavy cider. At first, the smell didn't even seem reminiscent of a cider, it smelled more like a PBR (completely different blog)! There is also a lot of iron to this cider. The taste reminds me of apple sauce, but that's about it. It's not very sweet and doesn't leave a great taste after you sip. Not too many good things to say about this one... Better throw this one back and let it mature.

It looks like this wasn't our greatest catch. Thank goodness there are plenty of fish in the sea - I mean, plenty of ciders in our fridge. 

Happy Tasting!

-Liz & Rob

Crispin The Saint Artisanal Reserve

Happy Cider Day! This has been a fantastic week so far. For Liz, because it's her birthday week. That means being spoiled. Who doesn't like being spoiled? For Rob, well, maybe it hasn't been as fantastic after working 9 days in a row so far.

We want to take a quick moment to thank you, our readers, for taking time out of your day to read our blog! We would love to say, "Hi!" to each of you, but that's not really possible. It's a weird feeling to see that your words are being read by people from all over the world. Thank you for your continued support!

Enough mushy-gushy feelings. Onto the Cider! This week we're talking about Crispin. The Saint Artisanal Reserve, to be exact. The Crispin Cider Co. in Colfax, CA says this about The Saint: Elevated Hard Cider. Naturally fermented with Belgian Trappist beer yeast using a premium blend of unpasteurized fresh-pressed apple juice, Not from concentrate, with no added malt, spirit or grape alcohols. Experience a sweetly floral to herbal aromatic bouquet and an elegant yeasty flavor with a sustained mouth-feel that develops a subtle spicy complexity. The Saint Artisanal Reserve, Unfiltered Cloudy Hard Cider, uses racked apple-wine smoothed with pure organic maple syrup, a kiss of apple juice, with no added sugar, colorants, sorbate, or benzoate preservatives. Best served cool in a tulip glass for bold, crisp refreshment.

The bottle in this picture looks quite small, but really, it's a whopping 22 ounces.  Almost twice as much as the normal bottle of delicious apple goodness. It also rolls in at 6.9% alcohol by volume.

Birthday girl goes first? Why not. Liz says that it’s very sweet at first, and then becomes dry and slightly chalky, like a white wine but it maintains a very smooth, welcoming flavor throughout. It has quite a large amount of sediment, too. Even though it is called out in the description, she says that she can't taste the maple, but feels a heaviness on her tongue that is reminiscent of true maple syrup. If it weren't so chalky, she would have considered giving this one a full bushel. Alas, Liz isn't a huge fan of the chalky dry wines. 4 apples it is.

As for myself, this is my favorite cider we've had since we started this little endeavor. It tastes like an apple moscato, but it doesn't have that sweet afterbite you would expect of a wine or cider. The cloudy beverage leaves a bit of a sediment at the bottom of the bottle but if that doesn't bother you, you'll be hard pressed not to chug this cider! The great thing about this bottle is it won't take too many to get you tipsy, giant bottle and high alcohol by volume make this a party all on it's own! I struggled for a while as to whether or not to give this one a perfect score. It may be my favorite, but it isn't quite perfect. 4.5 apples for this Saint.

Has anyone else had The Saint? What did you think about it and it's sediment? Let us know! Thank you again to all of our visitors.

We would also like to take a quick moment to thank all of the brave men and women who sacrifice their time, effort, love, sweat, tears, and even their lives every day for our freedoms. We are truly grateful for your sacrifices.

Until next week, Happy Tasting!
-Rob & Liz

Somersby Hard Apple Cider

Good evening cider lovers! Actually, I have no idea what time you'll be reading this, but as the saying goes, it's 5 o'clock somewhere! So crack open a cider and look at what new adventure we've had this past week.

Liz and I decided to take a bit of charge in our personal lives, and I bought a bike this week. Bike as in bicycle, not a motorcycle. We are hoping that before the weather gets too cold here in Wisconsin to take a bike ride and have a picnic, complete with a cider tasting. Pictures from our bicycling, picnic and cider adventure will come soon!

Back to the point. This week we decided to try a cider from Carlsberg Breweries out of Croatia! This little guy is imported by Crown Imports LLC in Chicago. The only thing the bottle has to say for itself is that it has a "Refreshingly Crisp Taste." We were so excited to try this one we forgot to take a photo until after we had demolished it.

Ladies first! Here's what Liz had to say:
Out of the gate, Somersby smells like one of those bright green caramel apple pops that are a B to eat but are super delicious. First sip is tart and sweet, and it kind of reminds me momentarily of a green jolly rancher, but it mellows out a little bit after it's left your tongue. It is pretty light and if I could call a taste "happy," that's what I would call this one.  I can honestly say I will be happy to pick this one up at the grocery store next time I need to stock the fridge. I'll give Somersby 4 tart apples!

And as for me?
This cider made me have a double take when I first took a sip. It is incredibly easy to drink! At first it is sweet and smooth like apple juice, and then it finishes fairly tart like an apple Jolly Rancher. There isn't much fizz to it so I could see how this would be easy to drink fast. I haven't had a cider like this before so being a cider lover outside of this blog, I look forward to running into this cider again someday! It gets 3.5 apples today.

If you were worried, our new-found health kick of biking will not interfere with us enjoying ciders. Everything in moderation, right? We agree. Biking can definitely be moderated. Cider is non-negotiable.

Happy Tasting!
- Rob & Liz