Thistly Cross Whisky Cask Cider

On to my final Thistly Cross purchase. I have deliberately saved this one until last as it should be quite interesting. I have also had a bit of pre-feedback suggesting that this is pitched by some as being the best cider in the world. Well, it has a long way to go if the others are a judge of it - however in fairness to Thistly Cross and to everyone else I am going to put all that to one side and review it with an objective head on.

Now. I love a bit of whisky. I think it is also proven that I love a bit of cider too! Putting the two together is interesting... one of my favourite ciders of all time was a Rum barrel cider. However it is so easy to go wrong with this kind of combination. Not enough and, well, what is the point; too much and it ruins both cider and whisky. It is also a contentious issue with HMRC... their rules on what can and cannot go into a 'cider' are fairly strict and spirits is not on the list. They want to know if the spirit imparts strength and flavour to the cider... although so far I don't think that many have been caught on this technicality (that, my friends is the story of the cider industry!!!)

This is perhaps more fitting as I believe this is the cider that started all that concern...

Again, I like the labelling on the bottle. It is 6.9%, which is fair for a cider and it is maraked as medium dry. The lavel also says it is a "flavoursome cider made potent in the wood". Hmmm. Is that a taunt to HMRC? (or the reason perhaps that they looked at it in the first place:-) Anyway, it is a deeper colour than their other ciders and has a low-moderate sparkle in the glass.

This cider has a deeper smell too. Am getting the whisky, which is quite a strong smell... I am not sure how sweet it is though. I suspect it is sweeter... It is quite a pleasant smell, however.

The first thing I have to say... and I am hoping that Thistly Cross read this... is in what world is this a medium dry? Please humour me and get some juice to the same level of sweetness as this cider. Then tell me the gravity of it. using my amateur head on this I would say it is around 1.020, which is medium sweet in my books (actually, doing a little research on cider competitions and how they bracket sweetness... which is a fair guide to it I think). OK, to everyone else... this feels medium sweet to me and would benefit from being half the sweetness it is.

Having said that, this is not a bad cider at all. The whisky is there and quite pronounced in the drink. I am getting none of the wood, although being a deeper colour of gold is probably a result of this. The whisky also compensates a bit and acts against the sweetness and the sharpness. And that is how I would describe this cider, light and sharp but with whisky overtones that make it more complex and enhances the drink

There is a fairly long aftertaste, which is pretty much whisky and a bit of apple... but nice.

In summary I think I have to judge this cider far too sweet for its description but, taking that into account, is the best Thistly Cross cider I have tasted so far. The whisky is the overriding flavour to the cider, but that considered it works and actually enhances the cider.

Now, addressing the enquirer who suggested that someone had said this was the best cider in the world. No, it is not. I don't expect even Thistly Cross themselves accept that. However, it is definitively Scottish cider and should be supported. If they can sort out their sweetness it would be better!

A score of 67/100 is shy of an apple, but well above average.

Thistly Cross Cider, Original Cider

Lets give a second bottle of Thistly Cross cider a look in. I have three in all, including their Whisky Cask Cider (which I am told has been declared by someone the nicest cider in the world). Having tried two previously that have been far too sweet, I am hoping that the 'Original' is, well, a little more 'original' and dry in nature. Mind you, having made the effort of bringing them all the way back from Scotland, I will drink it none the less!!

Unlike others (no - not going to bang on about cider reviewers again) I will draw a blank slate and open this bottle before judging it:-)

 At 7.2%, this cider is in the middle of what I would expect for a cider that describes itself as "small batch cider made with Scottish apples". Again, I like the presentation of the bottle, the saltire on the cap and the fact that it is actually made from apples. Again, as I am unaware of cider apples being grown en masse in Scotland I am expecting this drink to be on the lighter, sharper side of things.

Once it is in the glass (with a 330ml bottle you can get it all into a single glass) I can see that it is bright, very light gold and quite highly sparkling. It has a strong smell - light and sweet (again) and no tannin in the nose. There is some citrus in the smell too, which sort of already confirms that it is going to be a light, sharp cider.

The taste is different to the smell. It is sharp - very sharp I would say although this has been countered by being way too sweet. Why do some producers (newer ones - I can think of Tutts Clump, Mr Whiteheads and Three Cats as examples) think that good cider needs to taste so sweet... their market research must be wrong! There is also a bit of an odd taste to it too - almost whisky like actually (I hope this isn't the wrong cider in the bottle... or the wrong label for the cider).

As I have mentioned Tutts Clump already, I have to say that I do draw a comparison between them. Apart from the sweetness, there is a touch of sour to it as well... this (to me) indicates a high percentage of culinary fruit; usually of the Bramley kind; but I have to say that other apple varieties - if not fully ripened when pressed - will give a sourness to a cider. I think it mainly affects culinary varieties but unless the sugar has been left to fully develop then you get this underlying sourness which builds as you work your way through the cider.

The main job of the sweetness in this (however it got there) is to offset the sharpness of the cider, leaving me to think that it is there to attempt to balance things out a bit rather than add a huge amount. The aftertaste is long, sharp with a note of sweetness that lingers longer still.

I do think I prefer this cider to the 'Traditional' that I tried recently. It is a more honest cider in many ways, but is still entirely too sweet. And I cannot think why - the Scots don't necessarily have any sweeter teeth than the rest of the UK and whatever you may say about the mainstream producers the better ones don't sweeten this much!

A score of 63/100 is the best score for Thistly Cross yet.

Thistly Cross Cider Traditional Cider

First off, my apologies for the absence. Last year I had this season planned... this year I failed to do so! So I find myself very busy with lots of cider sitting on the shelf waiting to be tried. Well, finally, I am back!

I figured it would be nice to open one of the three Thistly Cross ciders that I have sat on my cider shelf. I had opted not to say this, but as Thistly Cross call themselves the 'original Scottish cider makers' I really suppose I have to: Cider is not normally made this far up north. Well, it never used to be. Now I think we can safely say that wherever you go in the UK you are sure to find someone making cider.

Part of the reason that cider is not traditionally known in Scotland is the availability of high quality apples with character. James Grieve, I believe, originated in Scotland - but that is a hardy sharp apple more related to cooking than to cider making. So, to some degree, I am expecting this to be a cider in the 'eastern counties' tradition than something with tannic cider fruit in. There were a couple of  'non apple fruit' themed ciders on offer that I opted not to buy - so they are exploring other flavours. So perhaps they don't get the full choice of cider fruit that others do (who oddly don't venture into 'non apple themed' flavours. 

So, lets get on with this cider then. It is presented in a 330ml bottle which seems a bit odd as the price didn't really reflect that. However, I like the label (and the Saltire on the cap). A couple of things that stick out from the label: “Premium Scottish Cider”. This tells me that Thistly Cross are a successful company who are courting the supermarkets and wider distribution (I am forming the theory that anything with a broad distribution has to be called ‘premium’. The other is “classic Scottish session cider”… at 4.4% I was wondering what it was – it cannot be full juice in any case. However, the ingredients list (also on the bottle) says ‘apple juice and sulphites’. OK, so it may be – although where I come from the use of water counts as an ingredient.

It pours out very pale golden and brightly polished. There is a moderate fizz that settles fairly quickly. The smell is quite faint and light – I am getting something like sharpness in the nose though; I expect that the main fruit crop in Scotland are going to be dessert and eaters so this is not surprising.

The taste is rather interesting. Firstly it is indeed made with cookers and dessert apples. It should be very sharp… but this is almost totally masked by the sweetening. It tastes a bit apple juicy, though I am not convinced it has been back sweetened with juice or if it is artificially sweetened and naturally a fruity cider. There is no tannin in here at all, but I am not getting a lot of sharpness either – just sweetness.

So, it is like a sweet apple juice – I noted that it isn’t dissimilar to WKD, although its credentials are far better and, actually, it is a bit nicer (and no boiled sweets!). However, it is not a favourite by any stretch. Too sweet to start – and it is naturally rather a thin and sharp blend.

The aftertaste is short.

Overall, I don’t really go for this cider on a number of levels. It is possible that the signs of a cider heading towards mass production are there… low abv, high use of sweetener (even the use of language on the label). It scores an actually respectable 62/100.

Thistly Cross Cider Jaggy Thistle (GBBF)

"What do you think of the Thistly Cross stuff?". I think that is how the conversation went. "Not tried it yet, but I may have room for one more", was my reply. And so, that is why I now move back up to Scotland to try the other producer representing the Scots at GBBF.  I doubt I will get too many chances to try this cider anyway, so it would be a perfect candidate for tasting!


Thistly Cross are a relatively new cider company based in East Lothian. Focussing on flavoured as well as traditional cider production, they are perhaps best known of late for their run in with HMRC about the use of whisky barrels for duty purposes (essentially, if the whisky transfers taste, abv etc. to the cider it breaks the rules under HMRC Notice 162 and becomes classified as 'made wine' for duty purposes). I guess its about time this was put to the HMRC test as it has become a popular marketing tool for many cidermakers... however, the down side is that it has put it to the test and many cider makers are now worried about it.

So, this is a faily light golden/yellow cider which is marked as being hazy/clear (see for yourself above).  And, well, to be straight... it smells of squash. I have never had that before! I confess that I really want this cider to be good... not least because I prefer drinking good cider, but also because I like the idea of excellent Scottish cider.

Moving to the taste of this cider, the squash-i-ness is still there strongly, though there is a nice apple taste too. Clearly its dessert apples - the acid is strong (though, I am glad to say, this one isn't sour!) But getting beyond the squash is tricky - its quite a thin cider too, which probably doesn't help.

Saying all of that, the aftertaste is fairly nice. I think it might have been sweetened a bit, and this could account for the odd part of the taste.

I would try this again, more to explore the profile more than because I think it is excellent. I do think the scoring is rather harsh - and I am worried that I have taken my frustration at tasting other poor ciders at this festival (and this cider is definitely not 'poor' - more a bit of a challenge).

It scores 61/100. I would be happy to hear from people who score it differently! Hopefully I can re-review it again in the future (though I won't be bothering with the other 'fruit' drinks they produce!)