Ballydooly Scrumpy Cider

(On tap) Clear - almost crystal clear - completely without any head. Good, full body with a heavy carbonation. The apple notes are fairly subdued while the alcohol really burnes. There’s some weak apple flavours in there but everything is flushed away by the solid dose of booze. 020208

After years of drinking traditional English scrumpy in England’s West Country, I had high hopes for this New Zealand cider. Alas, the word "scrumpy" doesn’t seem to carry the same meaning in Enzed. This sugarbomb was drinkable but you need a sweet tooth to enjoy it. Very pale and champagne-like in colour and effervescence. Crisp, austere aroma with good green apple tartness but marred by a waft of rubber tyre. Preservative? Medium-bodied, going on syrupy, with loads of residual sugars. Very sweet but sulphuric. Tart cider apples and a quenching finish. (draught at brewpub)

Nice stuff. An excellent ABV and lovely fresh apple flavour make this a good buy. A little better than Bulmer Harvest Ltd's Scrumpy Cider which itself is one of my recent favourites.