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  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.