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The Esquire Guide to the World of Luxury Cider
Swerve the same old cans in favour of premium bottle serves this BBQ season
Tested by Callum BlackFood and Drink Testing Manager
Cider has worked hard to shed its reputation as a drink reserved for summer festivals. Today, it’s less about supermarket slabs and swilling cans and more about small-scale bottles served chilled in your favourite stemware.
While browsing the back bar for a “luxury cider” may have had you laughed out of your local a few years ago, there’s a new thirst for high-end drops taking hold. So much so that many Michelin-starred restaurants are ripping up the rulebook and adding artisan ciders to their drink pairings, alongside fine wines and whiskies.
So, arm yourselves with our guide to the best artisan bottles – it’s all the (ahem) in-cider knowledge you’ll need.
Best luxury cider to buy in 2023
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What does cider taste like?
Like wine, luxury ciders are redolent of their terroir; the apple varieties (be that a bittersweet Harry Masters or long-coveted Dabinett), production method and vintage all combine to create an entirely unique drop.
From the driest of dry to sweeter styles, ciders are defined first and foremost by their crisp apple flavour. From there, more nuanced aromatics take hold, and can venture from vegetal (asparagus, fresh straw, cut grass) to spice (anise, vanilla, clove, pepper) and smoke.
What food pairs with cider?
Exceptionally food-friendly, the acidity of luxury cider cuts through fattier flavours (hence its longstanding affinity with pork dishes). Buttery cheeses, shellfish, charcuterie and game are a match made in heaven, as are earthy autumnal vegetables, such as fennel, butternut squash and leeks.
How we test luxury cider
We recruited a panel of accredited experts and cider connoisseurs to test 19 luxury ciders. They were looking for a classic, crisp apple flavour profile, well-balanced natural sweetness, and light, long-lasting bubbles. These are the eight ciders they’ll be sipping this summer.
Sassy Small Batch Cidre
Sassy Small Batch Cidre
In principle, Maison Sassy’s aim is simple: to bring classic Normandy cider up to speed with a few modern twists. The brand's small batch release is an extra-dry, farmhouse-style cider, made with a combination of five apple varieties to create a confected toffee apple aroma with enough crisp acidity to keep things balanced. Fine, sharp bubbles make this a dream for food pairing. Our advice? Serve chilled alongside buttery cheese and salty charcuterie (French, of course).
750ml, 5%
Little Pomona Harvest 2019 Cider
Little Pomona Harvest 2019 Cider
2019 was a difficult harvest; an uncharacteristically cool summer followed by autumn floods meant fewer bottles of Little Pomona’s debut drop reached the market. However, what was released has received rave reviews – and it’s not hard to see why. Floral hedgerows and fresh Browns apples abound on the nose, while the honey sweetness gives it a mead-like flavour and mouthfeel. An impressive debut, we can’t wait to sup the next vintage.
750ml, 7%
Gospel Green Sparkling Cider
If you ask us, it was a genius move by Gospel Green to use the Champagne method to make its cider. Why? The secondary fermentation in the bottle achieves decadent, velvety bubbles, with a well-rounded flavour profile of buttery brioche and crisp apple to boot. Exceptionally balanced, it makes a fine aperitif or, for added indulgence, we suggest serving alongside a platter of fruits de mer doused in fresh lemon.
750ml, 8.4%
Farm-fresh and funky, this Henney’s bottle is bone-dry with bright acidity – ideal for those who prefer their cider to err more savoury than sweet. The flavour profile is full of tart apple and a hint of tropical fruit to finish; it sings with naturally sweet seafood, including red prawns and pan-fried scallops.
8 x 500ml, 6%
Sxollie Granny Smith Cider
Sxollie Granny Smith Cider
Crafted using single varietal South African apples, Sxollie punches way above its price point. There are four types to try (including a floral-forward perry), but we’re beelining for the Granny Smith when the weather plays ball for a BBQ. Super sessionable and made with sunny summer afternoons in mind, it’s full of crisp green apple and tart lemon peel aromas, while the bright acidity and delicate bubbles make it all too tempting to crack open another bottle.
330ml, 4.5%
Galipette Brut Premium French Cider
Galipette Brut Premium French Cider
Made from 100% pur jus – or fermented apple juice with no added water – this Brittany-born cider is as classic as they come. Deep amber in the glass, our panel was impressed from the off with its sweet, baked apple aroma, zingy mouthfeel and earthier orchard finish. Another food-friendly cider, it’s the perfect sparring partner for spicier dishes, including Thai som tam salad and chilli-laced linguini.
12 x 330ml, 4.5%
Starvecrow Pét Nat Cyder
If you’re a fan of sharp, funkier kombuchas, then consider this pét nat cider your new weekend go-to. High in tannins with bright effervescence and grippy apple skin tang, it’s not the most sessionable cider on test – but perhaps the most memorable.
750ml, 5.5%
Hogan's Dry Cider
Hogan's Dry Cider
Hogan’s certainly doesn’t hold back when it comes to powerful flavours. Here, a combination of cider apples grown in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, creates a strong peaty smokiness backed up by pronounced long lasting bubbles. A versatile cider for all seasons.
500ml, 5.8%
Callum is our Food and Drink Testing Manager and has been part of the world of professional catering for 10 years, from cheffing to food manufacturing. While working in manufacturing he specialised in bespoke product and menu development for several start-ups and well-known brands such as Wrap It Up! and HOP Vietnamese. He holds the WSET Level 2 in wine, a Level 3 in spirits and has a particular interest in agave spirits.
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