It feels like I've had a bevy of non-beers lately, but I don't recall a whole bunch of them being ciders. It seems especially unusual, considering I seem to give ciders pretty good reviews. In general, I like them. I prefer them to most hard sodas, as they allow the alcohol to bite a little better while not making it sting. Most of the other beverages I've had lately try to cover up the alcohol, and it suits their needs for the beverages they're trying to be.
It pours a very pale yellow. If I was in a neglected area of town, this might even be the color of unfortunate tap water. As soon as I pour the cider, I am greeted with a decent amount of carbonation, but it goes away quickly, and scant points of nucleation toward the bottom of the glass are the only things that remind me that this has any carbonation whatsoever. The aroma is Granny Smith apples, and they are not my favorite kind of apple. I'm not sure that they are anyone's favorite kind. I once had a conversation with a friend who explained that Granny Smith apples are now almost entirely used by people who were trying to bake apples into something else.
First sip is very uneventful. It has an apple flavor, and that apple is derived from the Granny Smith variety, but it is heavily watered down. I do not recall if 4.7% ABV is the appropriate amount for a cider or maybe it's a little low, but this feels like they were aiming for something that was maybe low calorie or similar. Glancing at the bottle, it says that it is 144 calories, and I believe that is more than a pint of Guinness. If you were to ask me on any random day whether I would have a cider or a properly poured pint of Guinness, it would not take me very long to respond in favor of the latter.
Tip-in is very mild carbonation with very watered down Granny Apple flavor and sweetness. The middle reveals a significantly drinkable beverage, as the previous watery taste turns out to have just been a way to tone down the apple so that the beverage could freely flow down the gullet. The finish is both sweet and tart with the apple turning to peels and a little bit of alcohol surfacing before fading away and leaving nothing but the sweetness of apples on the tongue.
2.5/5