Kotas Reviews Strongbow Honey Hard Apple Cider

Summer marches on for us all, and that means it's time for another booze review! We're gonna take a stroll down to Cider Town for the second time this year, because cider is delicious and everyone should drink more of it. I recently conducted the first of what I hope to be many a grill out this season and the cider was a big hit. In preparation for this event, I picked up a pack of a new flavor from an old favorite. Today we look at Strongbow Honey Hard Apple Cider.

Classy!

Strongbow has been a staple cider in the Kotas Reviews household for many a year, ever since I fell in love with it at the Highlander many moons ago. The Highlander is probably my favorite bar ever and they had cider on tap before it was super popular. You might call them trendsetters, but I just call them grand. Anyway, Strongbow sits at the Dry end of the Sweet to Dry chart of Ciders. It's crisp, tangy, and never cloying. It is, however, incredibly rare to see any variety other than "standard" on the shelves, making this a rarity. It's also an import from Merry Olde England. Anyway, the packaging is almost exactly like their usual, but with lots of orange highlights and that little bee symbol. I like it! Let's see how it looks outta the bottle.

We are, as they say, golden.

This is a lovely looking cider, and perfectly matches my expectations as to what a honey cider should look like. Strongbow is generally on the slightly pale side of golden, but this? This is a rich summer day of golden color. Gorgeous. The taste is another one of those "confounds" expectations experiences. It is rich and sweet, almost cloyingly sweet to the taste with a strong honey overtone. But wait, this is STRONGBOW, the one true dry cider of which all other dry ciders are but shadows. Why is it so sweet? It's not bad, in fact, if you are a sweet cider fan this is going to be a staple, but it's a sweet Strongbow and that simply blows my mind. 

On the FACE Rating System this gets a solid single smiley of enjoyment. Good as a dessert cider and tasty when paired with the savory. This won't quench a thirst however, because the sweetness leaves the mouth feeling a bit sticky, though the taste is exactly what I would expect from a Honey Cider. That this comes from STRONGBOW of all places is mind boggling. If you are a cider drinker, pick it up and try it. It will not be a staple in my house, but it is worth drinking.