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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Angry Orchard Apple Ginger Hard Cider

This week Hawke and Bailey try Angry Orchard Apple Ginger Hard Cider! We have tasted a few of the other varieties from this company and were eager to try their newest addition. Their website can be found here: http://angryorchard.com/ and it's a pretty awesome website (if we may say so.) This company is very creative, using bittersweet apples from France, and culinary apples from Italy which are sweet and acidic. This cider is 5% ABV. Here we go!


Color:
Hawke was a little apprehensive as soon as we poured this cider out. It is extremely clear, which can mean one of two things: it's over filtered and lacks taste, or the producers actually know what they are doing and made a quality product. On looks alone however, Hawke gives this cider a 4/5 apples. Bailey loves this golden color giving it a 5/5 apples.

Smell:
Bailey took one whiff of this cider and was in love. She immediately detected sweet apples (her favorite apples for flavoring cider.) She did comment however that there was no trace of ginger in the smell. She gives it a 3/5 apples for the lack of ginger. Hawke did detect ginger with his olfactory sensors, but not much of the apples. Instead he could smell the alcohol. He did enjoy the smell though, and gave it a 4/5 apples.

Flavor / Complexity:
When Hawke sampled this cider, he tasted sweet apples and alcohol. The ginger was not prominent for him. He did comment that the quality of the cider (even without the ginger taste) was very good. He gives this a 3/5 apples for lacking ginger taste. Bailey did get a very sharp ginger flavor, but that wasn't the first thing she tasted. What stood out for her the most was the very crisp, sweet apples. It was like biting into the juiciest apple ever! The ginger taste was there for her, but it was short lived and did not stand out as much as she would have liked. She rates this cider with a 4/5 apples because the taste was great either way.

Aftertaste:
And...cue the ginger. Both of us found the sharp ginger in the aftertaste. It didn't last very long, but it was definitely there. Hawke rates this with a 4/5 apples. Bailey really enjoyed the aftertaste because for her, ginger can sometimes taste very spicy and be overpowering. In this cider, it is enjoyable, but doesn't knock you out of your seat. She rates it with a 4/5 apples also.

Price:
$7-10
This cider comes in a six pack of bottles and is very reasonably priced. With the gap allowing for tax and difference in price due to different areas, we purchased our six pack for less that what beer might cost. Both of us agree that the quality of this cider closely rivals Woodchuck ciders (one of our favorites.) Both of us rate the price with a 5/5 apples!

Overall:
All in all, this cider is excellent! This is an excellent pick to add a tiny bit of spice to your drinking agenda. We highly recommend trying this cider along with all the other Angry Orchard varieties.
Hawke rates this cider overall with a 20/25 apples, or a green apple!
Bailey loved the crispness of this cider and the sweet apples! She rates this cider overall with a 21/25, or a green apple!