Tuesday 16 July 2013

Celtic Marches Beverages, Abrahalls Cider



Another cider with an interesting story. This time, Abrahalls. Who are Abrahalls? Well, it says on the bottle that they are 'Celtic Marches Beverages Ltd'. So, who are they then? Well, I am not sure that they are that big - but they certainly have a range of weird drinks. Mostly liquers (orange, apple and maple... etc.) and then they also do Abrahalls.

They like their hedgehogs too. Apparantly there are 3 in the label alone. I have no idea how many are in the cider:-) They take this very seriously, supporting the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. OK, any joking aside, I recently heard an article on the decline of the British hedgehog, and am sure I used to see a lot more round here... so that should be sufficient excuse to buy a bottle!

Much like the Pershore example I had the other day, this cider is highly carbonated, bright and golden. Thankfully, there the comparison ends and it has a moderately tannic smell (with a touch of So2 thrown in).

It has an interesting taste. There is quite a lot of bittersharp in there as the drink is tannic and sharp together. The tannin is moderate but not too drying. I am finding some citrus notes going on in the cider, which is rather pleasant. I have to be honest, for all the vagueness of it, there is an interesting profile which I haven't experienced for a little while.

My notes say 'nice, but...' Once again, this loses out to a severe case of filtering, and while the aftertaste is moderate in length, it doesn't comprise an awful lot.

I am in two minds about this cider. One the one hand it is a unique crafted cider. Pleasant notes and an interesting (i.e. not dull) flavour. On the other hand the filtering has left it short measured in flavour..

Curiously, my score awards Abrahalls a bronze apple, with 75/100. I must be in a good mood!


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