Overall
6/10
I really want to like this cider. As someone who refers to having two childhoods this cider really speaks to my second one where I grew up in Toronto. Nothing about this cider is bad until you hit the carbonation and then it just throws all the good out the window and then I’m left sitting here in the dark alone watching the Raptors mop the floor with what Chicago is pretending is a basketball team. I feel for Chicago I really do. They’ve had some shit luck with injuries this year but I feel I could get on the floor with them right now and they wouldn’t be much worse.
So try this cider. If you like heartburn it’s for you. If you plan on having a few of these make sure you keep a roll of tums around.
Packaging
Like Seagram before something about this can just seems… meh. Aesthetically I’m not complaining. I actually love the design and details on this can. I like the colours. The font choice. It really has a feel that, if you’re in graphic design it’s almost got a magazine layout feel. Because of the good layout they’re able to throw a lot of info on the can without it feeling cluttered. All that said, it’s got no soul. This can is like the red-headed step-child of cider.
Ingredients
Cider
What the fuck is this supposed to even mean? This is like buying a DiGiorno pizza from the grocery store and it saying “Ingredients: Pizza”. Fuck you.
Appearance
Ooooh boy this is gonna come out a lot in the flavour section but you seeing this shit? That is way too much goddamn carbonation. Remember when I alluded to the fizz you get when you pour peroxide on a wound? That’s what this was. Shit ain’t right. Now that it’s settled? It’s like the opposite there’s no sign of bubbles. Now it looks flat.
Aroma
You gotta pull it real close to smell the apple. It’s there but it’s hiding. As for the smell it’s got a nice tartness to it. Just enough and not too much. Could use with being less subtle. I’m starting to notice now that a big problem ciders seem to have is expressing that smell. They’re consistently just muted.
Flavour
FML. You know that look? That fizz? You thing this shit is flat but as soon as you down your first sip you realise this is so goddamn carbonated it’s no joke. If I wasn’t so adverse to wasting alcohol I swear this shit could strip the rust of a nail in no time flat. Flavour-wise it’s not bad. It’s got a tart quality to it. It’s not too sweet or sugary at all. The problem with this cider keeps coming back to the carbonation. They gotta sort out what they’re doing cause it’s what’s keeping a half-decent cider from being better.