Rochdale Cider - Traditional product reviews

a wonderful cider made to the classic taste. a rich apple tang with a strong hint of acid it may be a little dry for some tastes. though i am not a great fan of too much acid this was worth it. a dash of a sweet fruit juice in it to tone down the sharpness set it off beautifully. my preferred additive is a strong shot of ribena concentrate but even without that this was a very drinkable libation. a lovely strong flavour sure to appeal to any cider drinker who appreciates top qaulity.

I really loved this cider. Nothing fancy or pretentious about it, just the basics done to perfection. A little on the dry side for my tastes, this was still a really refreshing drink which would go down a real treat at a summer barbeque or picnic on the beach. (Just remember to be a tidy Kiwi who respects our fine land, and take your empties home with you afterwards. No-one likes a jerk who litters broken glass on our beaches for our kids to hurt themselves on.)
The flavour was clean and clear, just like the drink itself, and left a really pleasant aftertaste, unlike some cheap (and not so cheap) ciders I have tried. I was really pleased to see this in glass, as plastic bottles usually leech an unpleasant taste into acidic drinks, despite what the bottle manufactures may say.
All in all this was one extremely pleasant product to review, and I just wish I had a lot more of it.

I have been a cider drinker for... well, quite a long time shall we say. My old-time favourite 'back in the day' was a full pint of ice-cold 'Harvest' with a hefty dash of blackcurrent juice in it. Not quite a 'snakebite' but just what I was after back then. In the years since, I have seen recipes change - with and without official notice of such, brands come and go, and all sorts of interesting, and "interesting" variants aimed at sniping another slice of the market... and in the end only a couple of really good brands remain, and they are either only to be found 'on tap' or in those horrible plastic bottles that sap away the flavour and fizz.

With that firmly in mind, I was overjoyed to discover this brand... a re-start-up of an old cider brewery with a long and illustrious history that has brands still around (though now owned by the 'big boys') that echo it's roots. A pedigree counts for a lot, especially in the face of 'experimental' brands and flavours. But what really counts, as any truly great chef will point out, is the ability to do the basics well, extremely well in fact.

This... well, this is a basic cider. Apples, fermented, bottled and sold. Serve chilled, and enjoy... so I did... and then I did again... and then I went down to the shops and made sure I can enjoy again, and again, and again... When it comes to doing the basics well, this is a great start for the restart.

Overall, I really had to admire this brew. Nothing too fancy, no bell and whistles, just damn fine cider at it's best. Sure, at first glance it seems a little pricey, especially when you compare it to a 1.5L plastic bottle from the supermarket chill shelf... but what you get here is a solid glass bottle that holds well, won't taint the flavour, won't leech away the fizz, and won't allow anything to contaminate the full body and rich tang of pure NZ applejuice - with a fermented kick. Preservative-free, made using pure artesian water (That's really old pure water from an uncontaminated underground source, for those not in the know). From someone who has had his fair share of cider experience - this is the one you want to be trying now.