Along came a spider and sat down be-CIDER…

~ Meg

Week 41 in The Year of Drinking Adventurously. Ice Cider.  (*buzzer sound* Fail!)

Ok, not totally. I am going to talk about cider this week. And next week, thanks to a new friend of mine, I am going to revisit Spanish cider. Ice cider is mainly a Canadian product, with a few varieties available from producers close to the Canadian border – like Vermont and New Hampshire. Unfortunately, much like my experience last week, the Fascist liquor store and beer distributor didn’t carry any of these styles of cider, either. However, I picked up a sampler 12-pack of Angry Orchard ciders to try. Although, there are a plethora of other cider producers to choose from, I went with the AO because our guide 51fffcpqPZL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_ recommended their Ice Cider as one of his picks. So in my mind, I am sort of sticking to the plan. I hope that made sense. I’m thinking it didn’t…

In my 12-pack, of which I am currently on bottle 2, are the following types: a dry cider, a light cider, a crisp cider and an apple cinnamon cider. I started with the dry cider. Right out of the gate, I am wishing I bought something else.

My first cider experience was with Bulmer’s Irish cider on my first trip to Ireland. The Bulmer’s brand is available here in the USA but it is marketed under the name Magner’s and I have no idea why. I am rather fond of the Magner’s/Bulmer’s cider, not only because it is delicious and apple-y, it conjures good memories of drinking in the afternoon, whilst sitting outside of The Huntsman Inn at the end of Lough Italia (part of Galway Bay), with the sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean, and dreaming of fairy princes and giants tossing rocks into the sea to make The Aran Islands….

What was I saying? Right. The dry cider, which I think is supposed to be an English style cider was rather flavorless. The second one I tried was the crisp cider. This was better but still… On to the next. The light cider. (I am writing this in real time. Aren’t you the lucky ones? Ha!) The light cider is about as flavorless as the dry cider, but has a little more sweetness. I’m really not impressed. Ah, well, win some, lose some. I think we’re done here. The cinnamon cider can wait. (For my unsuspecting girlfriends upon whom I will foist it.)

I hope Lula found some ice cider in her neck of the woods. Next week, if the postal service doesn’t inspect the package too closely, I’m anticipating a Basque Cidre from my friend Javier.

 

Published by Meg

Easily amused, never bored and constantly distracted. My creative pursuits include writing, drawing, painting and photography.

60 thoughts on “Along came a spider and sat down be-CIDER…”

  1. I have had very little experience with cider though I have a friend in the UL who grows and makes her own apple cider and I keep planning to order it from her. Thank you for the critique it’s very helpful. Enjoy your adventures!

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      1. I will. I will also let you know where I got it. This lady has a small business selling her cider but I can’t think of it’s name. I will have to go back to the poetry site where I found her !

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  2. Oh gosh…I love cider. Especially on a hot day. I really enjoy drinking cider 4 days a year. Lol. Also-have you tried Ice wine? Very sweet…too sweet. Its a dessert wine. Not for me…please pass the Port! 😉

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    1. That is the one I was looking for. The Canadian ciders are nowhere to be found around here. I knew I could find Angry Orchard locally, at least, but no one carried the Iceman. This was a big letdown week, so I’m really looking forward to the cidre for next time!

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  4. I enjoy a good, tart cider. Like mejiajav, I find ice cider a little too sugary (when it overpowers the tartness, that’s it for me). The horror film fan in me has been looking for Blake’s Black Phillip Cider everywhere, but I can’t find it locally. It sounded promising with its blood orange and cranberries (like a wicked holiday beverage ). Guess I’ll just have to make that stuff at home this year.

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      1. We had bloody hundreds of apples from next door’s tree that overhangs our garden so we looked into making cider (we are rather fond of it).
        Turns out it’s far too much of a pain in the arse to do as a small one-off so we didn’t bother. Mind you, we’re easily put off if we don’t know what we’re doing!

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  7. I have your same thoughts on AO. It is the coors light of cider; for people who want to “think” they are drinking cider. It’s a shame it’s taken over the market instead of real, good cider.

    My fail was slightly more indulgent that yours and there was no cider in sight. You get credit for making the attempt.

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  8. I can’t say I’ve ever really been a fan of cider, but I haven’t tried all that many. There’s a great orchard about 45 minutes north of us though, in southern Indiana, that makes their own, along with numerous wines. I like theirs, especially when on a hay ride or around a bonfire. Just fits the season. Most of the mass produced ones are pretty blah. I think Lula’s description is spot on: the Coors Light of ciders. 😃

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  9. We love a nice cider (visited Henry Westons cider factory last year – yum!) but tend to stick with standard Strongbow / Olde English / Bulmers in pubs that don’t have the oak-aged bottled products.
    Apparently, the reason why it’s ‘Magners’ outside Ireland is because Bulmers Ireland is not the same company as Bulmers in the UK, one of the biggest makers of bottled cider.
    And what is it with this new fashion of sticking ice in cider? Stop it! (Unless it’s not already chilled and it’s a hot day, of course).
    My first bout of drunken vomiting came after drinking about four or five pints of Woodpecker cider (cheap and sweet, I don’t think they make it anymore). Happy times…

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    1. Aha! There’s my answer. I wondered about the Bulmers/Magners. I should try the Strongbow, that is available locally. I rather like cider. And I’m looking forward to trying the Spanish Cidre I missed last week.

      We have a brand in the US called Woodchuck cider… 😀

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  10. I’m assuming you are talking alcoholic cider here, which I’ve never heard of. Oh, except for hard cider, of course, which I tend to pour down the drain. Maybe I’ve put rum in hot cider once or twice before. Ha ha. You are a very adventurous drinker, Meg. The variety pack sounded like a good idea. Sorry it was so disappointing. On to the next adventure…. 🙂

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    1. I came across this weird anomaly last year. Apparently a lot of Americans think cider is some kind of soft drink, when to everyone else it’s usually more potent than most beer. If you ever come over to the UK we’ll get you smashed on it 🙂

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      5. Ha ha ha. I plan to get there some day!!! I’m a sleepy drunk though, so I have to limit myself to one. To Americans, cider is more like natural apple juice without all the processing – just mashed right out of the apples with a big press 😀

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  13. Love the spiders with the apples: neat! I am behind with my blogging … but the housework is mostly done. Crazy trying to look after a house and a cat: it doesn’t leave much time for anything else. Sympathies and understanding to all women world-wide.

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      1. Clare calls regularly and other friends keep in touch. We have our literary group tonight at 7, with a guest. Tomorrow I have Molly Maid and a carpenter in. That should be fun. Another visit planned for Thursday and lunch with a friend on Friday. I guess I’ll do some Spanish cooking. Busy, busy, busy.

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  16. Ha, I was hoping your post would devolve as you kept drinking but I guess it’s good you didn’t like them too much. I normally hate cider but I tried Citizen Cider, Unified Press and it was good. It’s local to VT. I hope you like the Spanish one!

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