Last autumn, I tasted every cider I could get my get my lips around, which turned out to be an exhaustive 13 ciders from Canada, America, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom. This year, I aimed to try every cider that was either new to the market or just new to my area of Southern Ontario.

The autumn of 2013 produced some of the best ciders I have ever had in Pommies Dry Cider and Tempt No. 9 Cider. I’m also happy to say that unlike last year, no ciders have failed my review, the lowest ranking cider (I’m looking at you Somersby Blackberry Cider) scored an adequate 6/10.

Canadian Cider

Pommies Dry Cider

Made in Ontario, Canada

By Southern Cliff Brands

• $12.95 for 4 355mL bottles
• 5.0% alcohol/volume

This is my all-time favourite cider. Not only does it come in a lovely bottle with minimalist design that shows off it’s nearly clear colour, topped with a cute red cap, it also presents the most beautiful, sophisticated and delicate dry cider flavour. The soft, elegant carbonation bubbles glide over your tongue and leave you with a taste as clean and simple as the design on the bottle. Pommies Dry Cider is the champagne of ciders. I rate it a 10/10. Continue reading →

This year, there were more hard ciders on the selves of my local liquor stores than I have ever seen before. As a cider fan, how could I choose which ciders to try and which to leave behind? My strategy: try each and every one I can get my cider-loving hands on over the course of the season and call it research. From Canada and America to England, Ireland, Sweden, and Denmark I’ve tried nearly all the apple and pear ciders autumn has to offer.

Continue reading →