Magners Pear Cider

OK, OK, I know. Well, I had to start at some point, didn’t I! Actually, it is fairly timely for me personally to start tasting perry but… I can hear all those groans about me starting with the Magners ‘Pear Cider’. Its not a bad way to start 2014 either is it?

In my defense, I have to say that this is actually a good thing for me ­- it returns me back to basics. I remember starting to write my first review of a cider for this blog – Magners as it happens. The question wasn’t to try something that was going to set me alight it was to try something that was, perhaps, the market leader – the standard not in terms of quality, but as a yardstick of the genre. It was also a good reminder for me that this is what so many punters have bought into. I ought to say that, as a cider maker myself, I have tried (and made notes on) many ciders before I started blogging about them… it should be a part of all cider makers strategies – how do you know what you are producing compares unless you do the leg work eh! The blog was just an extension of other things I was up to… but has turned into a big ‘thing’ of it’s own right!

So, where to start? If this is the most popular ‘pear cider’ on the market, why don’t I start with the obvious?! The difference between perry and pear cider. Well, first off, did you know that Babycham was perry/pear cider? And, did you know that Lambrini is perry/pear cider? Not a perry that many traditional producers would recognise perhaps, but there you go. Mind you, I am late to the party – I confess that perry has scared me in that past. Perhaps it is because it can be a tricky thing to make. Apples are far more generous and forgiving! I think it is truthfully because perry is more nuanced - more delicate than cider and I am not the most experienced drinker. But then, I am not the most experienced drinker full stop - so that shouldn't really hold me back.

Pear cider is perry is pear cider. I know some purists who will baulk at that statement. I guess it is not strictly true that the two are the same... but the principle is the same – perry could be regarded as the full juice version and pear cider; although there is nothing that makes that statement true... nothing stopping a pear cider being full juice (or a perry not being full juice for that matter). The simple reality is that both are made from pears. Just as cider (a much abused word) is made from apples - or should be made from apples

Got that? I only hope that bar people read this! How many conversations have I had that ran along the lines of:

Me - “Do you have any perry?”

Barista - “What is that?”

Me - “It is made from pears”

Barista - “Sorry, we only have pear cider”

Me - “It’s the same thing” [retires in mental defeat]

Or/And:

Me - “Do you have any perry?”

Barista - “Sorry, we only have pear cider”

Me - “It’s the same thing”

Barista - “No it isn't - sorry. Perry can only made from perry pears at May Hill”

Me - “Hmmmm. OK then... What cider have you got”

Barista - “Strawberry or Beetroot?”

Me - “Oh fuck off!”

Apologies about the swear word; alcohol is an adults drink so please don’t get your children to read this!

Anyway. I have now diverged from this review so far that I am considering separating it out as it’s own blog. But no – I will persevere and get on with this review.

The first thing I have to say is that this drink comes in a green bottle. And I am assuming it is fairly clear, so I have a bottle of what looks like water in front of me – brightly clear. It has sat on my shelf for a number of months and doesn’t appear to have changed in any way whatsoever:-)

First off I can see that my catagories of colour etc. are going to have to be modified to cover shades of green if I am to try many perries. To be fair to Magners, this is mainly clear with a yellow tinge (although it does pick up green too). 

A light floral smell comes off it – very light. Oddly, at 4.5% this is almost exactly the same as the cider. Controlled alcohol.. that is the answer! It is also quite foamy and highly carbonated. Coming back to it I can see that perry demands more attention that cider does. Or perhaps I need to go back to many ciders and consider them more carefully! There is a touch of citrus – lemon – to the nose in this and mabe even some clementine. However, please be assured that it is very light and I think I may be the only person ever to have sniffed a bottle of Magners Pear Cider before! 

The taste is quite vinious – and watery. And sweet. It is sort of pleasant but doesn’t really seem to have an awful lot of substance to it. Thinking back to those drinks like Lambrini, it does come across as a cheap white wine – sweet and just a touch chavvy to be honest.  Having said that, I am still getting a sense of clementine to it – very slightly orangy. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t offensive… and my experience of tasting perry is very lacking… far more than really it should be if I am to publish this review.

There is virtually no lingering aftertaste to it other than a touch of white wine about it. There is virtually no acid to it whatsoever and certainly nothing tannic (or are these cider terms?)

It scores 47/100: sadly, below average and quite a thin offering. However, I hope that as with cider I can find more satisfying alternatives that I can suggest to develop a pallate for perry... one lives in hope!

My conclusion must be that this has not exactly prepared me for what I have sat on the shelf to try next - a veritable feast from some of the worlds best producers: Olivers, Dunkerton's and Burrow Hill... I feel somewhat under prepared, but here we go!

Magners Spiced Apple and Honey Cider

I think this is an appropriate choice for review for this time of year. Its very nearly mulled cider (but oh so far as well!) and its a little different.

I was a bit surprised earlier this year that Magners saw fit to jump on the flavoured ciders bandwagon. I guess its partly because sales are slipping and partly because flavoured ciders are 'on trend'. Why am I reviewing a flavoured cider? Well, its not far enough away from cider for me not to - I have reviewed a mulled cider and I have reviewed Honey Cider under the premise that both drinks are traditional and therefore ought to be included. I can safely say that I will not be reviewing the rhubarb concoction though! Rhubarb is for eating with custard and in a crumble... I don't want to drink it.

That over, I am unsure whether or not to warm this up and compare it to Heston's mulled cider. Being Magners I expect it suggests serving over ice... which is the last thing I shall be doing (sorry Magners marketing people:-).

A word on warmth. Well, actually a word on the temperature of cider for drinking... although being the middle of winter I expect its one to repeat nearer to the summer! Referring to Proulx and Nichols "Making, Using and Enjoying Sweet and Hard Cider", it essentially says that the sweeter the cider, the cooler it should be. Therefore a dry cider should be served ideally at room temperature, whilst a medium dry/sweet should be chilled. I find this a reasonably good guide, although I would naturally chill an eastern counties style cider as I find it more refreshing cold. That aside, I think that is generally good advice to follow. Note I haven't mentioned ice cubes at all! Also, some of the sweetest andmost chemically of ciders would probably be best frozen before serving... that way you cannot drink them at all - which may be a blessing!

OK, I have put this drink off for long enough.

Its a bright, light coloured drink - lighter I think than Original even. With a high fizz to begin with it soon settles down. It smells a little mulled, although to be honest there isn't that much smell going on. I guess this is to be expected (see my review on Magners Original). This drink it based upon original, albeit that there is some spices more familiar with mulling cider.

On the taste it is actually pretty interesting. THe honey does come through gently, and there is even a sticky aftertaste to it... mind you, that could be the cider:-) There is also cinnamon in there too which makes the honey, if anything, more pronounced. However, the citrus is lost on me. This isn't a bad thing. If cider is anything, its not citrus! Mind you, its nice to see that Magners are playing by the rules and not calling it honey and spice cider - which doesn't exist under UK law (a bit like Strawberry Cider!)

Asides from this, it is still very sweet, and this dominates throughout. I guess that it the market they are playing to. Its not chemically tasting though.

At this time of year, this Magners Special fits in nicely. I am not entirely sure how well it would taste heated though, and certainly would pitch it against many mulled ciders I have tried that are properly done with all the spices and a full juice cider.

So, for score. 55/100. OK, so its not a great scorer, but it is a step in the right direction!

Magners Original Cider

Magners. Yup. The place to start. A lot of ciderati would scream 'infidel’. However, why not? Because its an 'industrial’ cider? Sure its produced as a manufactured commodity, which is a mile away from the artisan cider producer. But that is the price of catering to the masses and we have to start somewhere. As a cider commodity, Magners represents a huge part of the market for cider worldwide. Its looking at a totally different market space than the artisan producer. Quantity over quality? Well lets see about that.

Its hard to be totally objective about ciders like Magners. I spent my late 20’s and early 30’s consuming the stuff before discovering what many describe as real cider (although a number of the large producers make cider in similar ways). Since then, not a bottle has passed these lips – so this is both a step back in time, and also time to be serious for at least a minute and put preconceptions aside.

So, to drink 'over’ ice or not? What a silly concept! And surely its drink 'under’ ice? Ice floats in liquid  ergo the cider is under the ice! Anyway, I wouldn’t put ice in my beer, or in my wine, so no thanks. However, as a gesture to this feat of marketing, I chilled it.

And what of Magners as a drink? Well, its a cider. Its probably better described as a session cider... kind of like the 4 pack of lager that you buy to take over to your mates house for a Barbeque. Easy going and undemanding. And generous too (though I smell a whiff of marketing in the pint sized bottles too).

At 4.5% its a bit lighter than most ciders, and it has a watery consistency – these set it apart from traditional, full juice ciders (yes, yes, I know, there are other factors too). However, it looks like cider - a bit orangey maybe. Its carbonated; though a little too heavily for me, and it tastes like cider. It’s not an inspiring taste though, with little aroma or distinctive character about it. In fact, it is an average cider in just about every way I can think of. Maybe average is not the right word here. Simple is probably more accurate - without wishing to cause offence to the good people of Clonmel, it is a bit of a dumbed down cider.

And that is probably the best summary of Magners – it has an average taste, with average sweetness, average style and average character. Maybe that is the secret to its success - its not challenging. Exceptional, however, it is not. Well, except for the marketing that it:-)

The score of 49 pretty much sums up how I felt about it.