Ross on Wye Cider, Suzie Wong's Cider

Moving from one very trusted pair of hands to another, this is the Ross on Wye's special cider with a photo of a cat on it. I presume this is 'Suzie Wong'. The label says 'soft and fruity' - I wonder if that is the cider or the cat (or both?!)

I got this cider a while ago direct from Ross on Wye. I have no idea if you can get it elsewhere, although its always worth the chat to visit them in person. Just expect some odd labels - a llama (or was it an alpaca) a headless person and now a cat! Unique, I would say that for it.

The cider is flat and golden. I would say it was filtered at there isn't really any yeast in the bottle. I confess when I stick my nose in I am apprehensive about its sweetening (medium sweet could be too far for me). However, it doesn't smell so - it is a clean smell with a mild apple fruitiness and not much tannic aroma. This could be a result of filtering, which tends to knock the aroma's back quite a bit.

The taste is... modest I think describes it well. There is plenty of mild bittersweet going on and little acid to compete (not that it really needs much acid as it is rather gentle. The sweetening is well done. Whilst I would agree with its medium sweet its not as if it leaps out at you and fills your mouth with sugar. Overall, it comes across as a gentle, soft cider - not quite as fruity as I might have expected from the label but very not bad either.

If you are not really into big bold flavours then this is ideal. It is individual enough to stand on its own but is not particularly complex or challenging. The aftertaste is pleasant if a little short. Suzie Wong earns herself a silver apple (just) with a score of 80/100. Probably better than I expected but I took my time over this one so I am happy.