Apples we are drinking: Old Testament Cider

I picked up this cider during a quick trip to the supermarket – one of those ones where you have no list because you only need a few things but you end up with a trolley load of other stuff you don’t need.  It wasn’t until I got home that I discovered it is made right here in our fair city.

We’re lucky to have a Cidery right here in town – they have a shop that not only sells their cider but also some lovely bacon salt from Ma Prenzel as well as highly perfumed candles set into old tea cups.  I’m fairly sure I bought a bottle of olive oil that had something to do with garlic but I seem to have mislaid it …… my new pantry doesn’t seem to be as organised as it “should” be.

But back to the cider – here in NZ cider means hard cider or alcoholic cider as opposed to fresh unfiltered apple juice.  Cider has had a resurgence of sorts over the last five years or more – new cider varieties appear on my apple radar with regular occurence. And we’d much prefer to sit down to a cold cider than to beer or wine.

With so many New Zealand produced cider’s available, the imported name brands are relegated to the ‘meh’ pile.  Thomas & Rose Fine Fruit Cider, also produced by Harvest Cider here in Gisborne is one of my favourite.  I do a real good frownie face when the Mopp comes home with non-NZ made cider but he hasn’t cottoned on as yet.

I’m not real fond of plastic bottles, I much prefer glass.  However, in the interests of trying this sparkling apple cider, I pushed aside my niggles and popped the bottle into my trolley.  I’m glad I did as this cider is fresh, fruity, crisp and very good to drink.  The apple taste really shines through which may be a dumb thing to say but some apple cider doesn’t much taste of apples.

I enjoyed my glass of cider while sitting on the deck covered in fallen apple blossoms.  I also found that one can buy a “proper” cider glass rather than just any old glass  – there is an interesting article over at the Cider Journal.  And to correctly compare one cider to another, then the correct glass is imperative.  Oops – I do have a wine glass somewhere but we drink wine so seldom, the glasses are in a box buried in the back of the china cabinet cupboard and it was much to difficult to dig them out.  My recycled glass did just fine.