Asda Vintage Cider 2012

Wasn't sure what to think of expect of this. On one hand it's a supermarket own brand cider, but on the other hand it's part of their 'Extra Special' range so you'd think they'd put some effort into making it good.

It's certainly a cider for a more mature situation rather than a quick binge drink (although at 7.3% it wouldn't be hard to get a bit tipsy off it). It's quite crisp and fairly sweet. You can certainly taste the high alcohol content, but that doesn't damage the taste of the cider.

Nothing fantastic but not a bad drink for a quiet evening tipple.

7/10

Note: Since I purchased the 2012 Vintage, I have noticed they are now selling a 2013 Vintage but as far as I can tell these are one and the same.

Carling British Cider

Like I said in my review of their cherry cider, the word Carling on the bottle doesn't really fill me with much hope. However, unlike their cherry 'cider', this I found a half decent effort for a lager manufacturer.

The bottle says it's 'Refreshing to the core' but I didn't find that at all. It was quite a crisp taste but in terms of flavour there wasn't much there at all. It was sweet-ish but was overall just very un-exciting but not awful.

5.5/10

Bulmers No.17 Cider with Crushed Red Berries & Lime

This cider is one of Bulmers' newest creations as they diversify into fruit ciders.

I really really liked this. It's got a great fruity taste and I found it really easy drinking. Despite Bulmers being better known for their Apple and pear varieties, they've clearly put a lot of work into their fruit ciders.

8.5/10

Healey's Rattler

Rattler is a Cornish Cider that is very popular throughout the south west of England.

It has a strong but tasty flavour that's great to enjoy in any situation, whether on a warm sunny day, sat in a pub of an evening or at home. If you're new to cider then it's strong flavour may put you off at first, but I'd definitely encourage everyone to try it.

8.5/10

Rekorderlig Wild Berry

This was a very enjoyable cider.

I find with some fruit ciders that the taste can be either a bit of a generic fruit taste with undistinguishable flavours or the opposite with overly sweet artificial tasting flavours but this cider really hits the spot. The strong berry taste is sharp and slightly sweet and very pleasant. This is a great cider for enjoying outside on a summers day and I can see myself drinking alot more of this in the future.

8/10

Rekorderlig Strawberry-Lime

As someone who enjoys Kopparberg's Strawberry and Lime cider, I was keen to see how this compared.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this anywhere near as much. Whilst the 2 flavours were distinguishable, there just wasn't much flavour at all. I found it rather wanting of some substance and for a fruit cider, it wasn't anywhere near fruity enough for me. I'll stick with Kopparberg.

6/10

Kopparberg Naked Apple

Better known for their fruit ciders, this is Kopparberg's attempt at an apple cider. The name comes from the fact that the only fruit used are apples.

This is a great cider for someone who's just starting out drinking cider. It has a pure apple juice like taste and doesn't taste overly alcoholic. It really won't be a cider that big cider drinkers go anywhere near on a regular basis.

5.5/10

Carling Cherry Cider

Didn't have much hope that a lager maker producing a fruity cider would produce much good, and I was right.

The label says its cherry cider with cherry juice and natural cherry flavourings, so clearly they didn't have any confidence in their product without having to enhance the flavour. The flavourings came through very strongly in the cider. The taste was so strong, sweet and artificial that it felt like I was drinking an alcopop. This was not an enjoyable drink and I won't be drinking this again anytime soon.

3.5/10

Rekorderlig Mango-Raspberry

Another of Rekorderlig's ciders that I was very keen to try. I've never come across mango in a cider before so this was a step into the unknown.

This was a very nice cider. Both the mango and raspberry flavours came through and combined very well. Not quite what I'd have on a hot summers day but would be a lovely drink to enjoy on a quiet night in.

8/10

Rekorderlig Passionfruit

Was very interested when I saw this on the supermarket shelves, really like passionfruit so was very keen to try this.

Like their main competitors Kopparberg, Rekorderlig are a Swedish brand who make apple, pear and fruit ciders.

If you like passionfruit then you'll enjoy this, but I must say I was still a little underwhelmed. I hoped it would have a strong fruity flavour but it never came through, something I find with most the Rekorderlig ciders.

Overall, it's a nice cider, but it won't blow you away.

6.5/10