Home > Categories > Beverages > Ciders > Harvest Apple Cider with Boysenberry review
Always harvesting the best in memories, Harvest Ciders capture the relaxation of sunny Gisborne in a bottle. Always crisp and refreshing, serve cold over ice and savour with good friends.
Product reviews...
I have grown quite fond of fruit flavoured ciders in recent years but I am still not a fan of traditional apple ciders so was a bit unsure of this given that the brand Harvest reminds me of those traditional apple cider flavors. However I was pleasantly surprised at how nice this was. I really enjoyed this served chilled over ice and could see myself easily drinking this over the warmer summer months as its quite refreshing.
For someone like my dad who drinks traditional cider regularly this version is too sweet and more like a fizzy soft drink but for myself who enjoys the sweeter drinks the sweetness was spot on. Be prepared though it is sweet and fruity with the boysenberry flavoues. I could see this becoming quite easy to drink so that is one thing to watch in terms of consumption because you can drink it quite quickly.
The bottle is a good size and has a resealable lid which is a bonus because you can have a couple of drinks and seal it up for another day. I think 1.2 litres is a good amount however if you were having a party and you could quite easily space that out throughout the night. I love the fact you can reseal the lid because I am normally as sparkling wine drinker and that is the one thing that bugs me that you can't seal the lid on wine.
I think this could easily be my go to drink over summer and would also make a great base to fruity punch bowls!
I really liked this as a chilled drink over the warm days we had a short time ago. Just poured as is over ice and sipped on was really nice, but my missus suggested I make some ice cubes out of crushed strawberries and that was pretty amazing. That extra berry flavour really made this into something awesome but not too sweet.
I thought about trying to make a reduction out of it as a dessert sauce and it sort of worked but I couldn't get it into a thick syrup without adding a lot of extra sugar which ruined the taste for me, so that's a dead end as far as I go. But I did soak some dried apricots in this overnight so they would soak up the flavours and then used them to make some muffins. I could taste the boysenberry flavours in there but they were really subtle. That was what I mostly expected and it turned out good enough so you may want to try that. I think the small amount of alcohol would have fumed away in the oven so you can feed the results to kids without getting them tiddly.
I have now gone to the shops and bought a couple of extra bottles to see how they go as the base for a summer punch, in time for the BBQ season. Can't hurt to give it a try, and it's a really nice drink on its own if all else fails.
Recently a friend of mine convinced me to try cider, I had been actively avoiding it as I mistakenly thought it would be similar to beer which I have never liked the taste of. I can safely say that I am a bit of a convert and now enjoy a nice cider sitting on my deck enjoying a clear blue sky day. So not wanting to break with my mini tradition, I duly poured the Harvest Apple and Boysenberry cider into my tall tumbler glass and sat outside to try this new product.
The plastic bottle was a very generous size at 1.25L and it was emblazoned with "Brewed in Gisborne since 1989", which certainly gave me confidence that if the company had been around that long, they should be producing some good cider. When I first tasted the cider I got the initial pleasant taste of apple and then after swallowing the aftertaste was berry flavoured, the flavour was certainly very nice,crisp and refreshing - just what their label had written on it even.
My 10 year daughter, who somehow can hear the sound of a bottle cap being opened on a fizz bottle from two blocks away suddenly appeared with her glass demanding to have some, after explaining the cider was an adults drink she soon disappeared back to the kitchen to get some water. I had a wee smile to myself, after realising there are perks to being "adult" .
I would recommend this cider as the price is very reasonable, it has a nice fruity apple taste with a hint of berry, a great portion size and it has fairly low alcohol content of 4.7%.
Who knew that a bottle of Cider could taste so good? and be used in so many ways!This new cider is a now a definite favourite of mine as it is light,fruity and fizzy without overpowering a delicious summer meal. I love the clear bottle that shows the pretty shade of yummy cider inside and it's a perfect size to sit alongside the milk in the fridge when you need that sneaky cider after the kids are in bed it is also lightweight so you don't struggle when pouring it into a glass.
I cannot rave more about the value of this product I managed to make 2 chocolate cider cakes to keep the family happy a few sneaky drinks and the last of it I used in a trifle to use up a sad looking sponge cake, I also found that by the end of the week there was still that wonderful hissing sound of the fizz as the bottle opened and also that fizzy light refreshing taste that I have come to love.
I definitely recommend you pop this in your supermarket trolley over summer and try it out over ice or in a yummy summer berry trifle the family will thank you and so will your wallet as it is very affordable compared to other ciders on the market.
My husband and I really enjoy cider. We are particularly fond of Harvest Cider and apple would have to be our favourite. We are, however always keen to try out new flavours. We both love berries and the boysenberry version sounds like a good option to try.
We have found that as it is getting a little warmer in the evenings, we are tending to be a bit more chilled out over preparing dinner and are enjoying a drink as we chop veggies and cook the meat etc. This cider has filled the gap nicely over the last couple of nights. The fact that it isn't too strong means that it isn't too big of a deal to have a glass on "a school night"!
We found that the Apple Cider with Boysenberry had just a hint of boysenberry, which came through at various times while drinking a glass of it. We both agree that it could have done with a little bit more of a boysenberry flavour. There is of course the issue that if you add too much berry flavour, it could become too sweet. For the most part, it had a refreshing taste and was sweeter than plain apple cider but not sickly sweet. My husband did find that the flavour was a bit on the bland side for his tastebuds. I was happy to enjoy it for what it was, however I think my preference would still be with plain apple.
The alcohol content isn't too high - it is just 4.7%. This makes it similar to having a beer. With alcohol limits and driving these days, I think that having a this type of cider or a beer would be a much safer option than a glass of wine if you are driving as the alcohol content is substantially less than wine. I am not condoning drinking and driving (and I don't at all support the idea), however there are times when it is nice to have a small drink and it is good to have safer options to indulge in.
When we were drinking the cider, the kids thought that it was a fizzy drink and wanted some. Funny thing is that we don't actually give them fizzy drinks but they just assumed that it was a drink that kids could have. I think we will have to watch Miss 3 who was a tendency to venture into the fridge and help herself to things.
We are quite comfortable with the price of this cider and do enjoy the brand. This particular flavour is probably not one that we will purchase again. One main reason for this is that we do LOVE plain apple cider!
I am a huge cider lover - after discovering it many many years ago on my honeymoon in Europe. My husband is an avid cider drinker also - and though we have our favourites , we are very willing to try out new ones - thanks KIWIreviews and Harvest Cidery !! I love berry flavoured cider , and thought the boysenberry sounded delicious. I was not disappointed !! Neither hubby nor I are particularly keen on sweet cider , so this sounded great - and it was a pretty perfect combination of sweet and a little tart . The berry flavour was nice, but not strong enough in my opinion . It was not a bad taste at all , just needed to be stronger !
The bottle is a good size - 1.25 litre - so for the serving size we normally have - that gives us roughly five drinks - perfect to share with friends as well as having one ourselves . The bottle is easy to open and close , and stores nicely in the door of the fridge !! The bottle itself is well designed and the label is pretty - would catch my eye on the shelf! The alcohol level is 4.7% - not too high - which I like . Three young children and a high alcohol content do not mix well , but a glass of cider with dinner is delicious . I can see a few ciders and BBQs happening over the summer for sure !
The price for a 1.25 litre is good - and the brand is consistently nice. I do not know that it would be my first cider choice as I would like the flavour to be a bit stronger - but I would have no qualms purchasing it again! My eldest daughter thought that I was drinking fizzy juice - so had to explain that this is an adult drink - and not actually juice . She also asked me if it was like wine or beer - so maybe we have another cider drink on our hands in time !
Looking forward to trying the raspberry one next!
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