Ernest Cider

Overall

7/10

I’m going to be biased because this cider is crafted about 15 minutes north of me in Newmarket, Ontario and I already have a history with it having drunk it many times to excess.  This cider is good and deadly and is very “buyer beware” when you start drinking them.  If you’re me, this cider will arrive with you at a friends pool party, get you obscenely drunk to the point where you will be lying on the grass with someone bringing you Gatorade forcing you to drink it and ultimately end up fucking up your ankle for the second year in a row.

Packaging

Now here we go!  Nothing on this goddamn can denotes that it’s derived from apples.  It does, however, allude to the fact that bees and honey are involved.  I like this can.  It’s simple yet elegant and trust me when you’re at the store it does stand out.  They’ve also crammed a lot of information on their can in a way that doesn’t stand out but is worth while.  “Handcrafted.  Slowly Fermented Dry.  Never From Concentrate.  Gently Carbonated.”  Christ Almighty they had me at “Never from Concentrate”.  Please God enough of the apple juice!

 

Ingredients

Apples, Pure Honey, Organic Cane Sugar, Potassium Sorbate, Sulphites

Appearance

Effervescent.  What was that?  Schweppes?  Canada Dry?  This is a very mid-tone colour and I’d argue looks clean.  The bubbles subdue very quickly but seem to sustain in the glass pretty good.  At this point I need say “Fuck you.  I’m drinking out of a tumbler.  I know it’s not the right glass for a cider.  This is me not giving a shit.”

Aroma

Finally an apple smell I can get behind.  As soon as you raise the glass to your notes you get a good smell of apples with the slightest touch of honey.  Apples and bee vomit just go together so well.  I wonder if cider is a favourite among alcoholics for a morning drink?  Screwdrivers would make the most sense but you have to mix that shit.  This you just have to pop a can and blammo!  Crippling depression at 7am.

Flavour

Sweet and dry at the same time.  The bubbles are barely there when you take a drink.  It goes down insanely smooth which is not necessarily a good thing.  The honey definitely helps on the sweet aspect and I’d imagine the cane sugar does too.  The sweetness is robust not like what you’d get out of a spoonful of sugar.  This cider also sticks around after you take a swig in the best way possible.  The apple flavour lingers in your mouth like when you’ve been eating a peach all night long.  One negative is it’s not really that dry despite saying it is.  I mean I’m not expecting a glass of sand and I’m definitely not a fan of dry but this shit ain’t dry.