Cider with Evans

Blue Barrel Cider

A nice little local for me cider maker. They're now splitting their time between Cambridge and Nottingham, with some orchards just outside Cambridge. They're seen regularly locally at Mill Road winter fair (with the usual mulled cider) and at the Apple day at the botanic gardens.

The tastings I've had from them have been top top and they're well worth looking for.

Clifton Beauty

Medium dDy

Dark golden, nearly clear and flat even from the bottle.

Gentle mature nose with a hint of spirit

Nice crisp fruity little cider with light tannin. Made with a blend of bittersweet and desert and it's a nice little blend . Very mouth watering initially and drying a bit in the aftertaste.

Very very quaffable and I think this would go down really well on a hot summer's day decently chilled

6.5%
Blue Barrel Cider Clifton Beauty review
Blue Barrel Cider Clifton Beauty review
Blue Barrel Cider Clifton Beauty review

Coferment Pinot Noir

Medium Dry

Golden, very hazy and flat

Fairly light fermented fruit nose

High tannin but not too astringent. Taste isn’t hugely fruity initially but it does kick in half way through giving a little tang and turns to a nice sweet cooked apple in the aftertaste.

Nice and refreshing and easy to drink little number. Lovely balance between the tannin and the sweetness to produce a grand medium dry cider

So this is an experimental wine produced from a mix of Redstreak and Pinot Noir skins. You get a small amount of the grape flavour, but you mainly get the red wine tannin, which does make a difference. An interesting experiment and I think I'd call it a success.

6.7%
Blue Barrel Cider Coferment Pinot Noir review

Colwick Perry

Medium Sweet

Golden, slightly hazy and flat. Careful of a small amount of sediment

Rich sweet boozy ripe fermented pear nose

Lovely flavour. Big sweet pear flavour (obviously) with the richness of raisins. Buttery or creamy. Rich oily texture that feels stronger than it is. Sweet but not stupidly so and has a nice deep mouth watering aftertaste with a hint of calvados

Cracking Perry, not overly sweet and very easy to drink. It's even better chilled on a warm summer's evening..

This is made using pears picked from a mature wild tree and the difference in flavour comes through.

6.5%
Blue Barrel Cider Colwick Perry review
Blue Barrel Cider Colwick Perry review
Blue Barrel Cider Colwick Perry review

Cuckoo Returns

Medium Sweet

Golden, ever so slightly hazy and flat. I have to comment on the lovely design of the bottle for this one and the other bottle from Blue Barrel. Great artwork.

Intense traditional cider nose, with hints of honey. Reminds me more of a west country style that the Eastern style that it is.

Oh that's a gem. Smooth rich apple caramel flavour with hints of vanilla and apricot. A small touch of tannin and a very slight sharpness or zing as they call it in the flavour with some residual dryness in the aftertaste.

Brilliant balance of sweetness and sharpness. Nothing over complex and not at all sickly sweet and you could drink this for hours.

5.5%
Blue Barrel Cider Cuckoo Returns review
Blue Barrel Cider Cuckoo Returns review
Blue Barrel Cider Cuckoo Returns review

Sherwood Blend

Medium

Dark gold, clear and fairly flat.

Nice sweet fermented nose with a slight raisin and spicy orange note.

Very deep mature rich flavour with a bit of spice in there as well as a bit of toffee. Bittersweet and a small amount of tannin but that is balanced out by being nice and fresh. Nice long bittersweet fruity aftertaste leaving a bit of spice in the back of the mouth.

I like this one. It's got the deep flavour that makes it interesting but also has freshness that makes it easy to drink. A good little blend and that spiciness makes it quite different.

6.5%
Blue Barrel Cider Sherwood Blend review
Blue Barrel Cider Sherwood Blend review
Blue Barrel Cider Sherwood Blend review

Smokin Barrels

Medium Dry

Dark golden, clear and fairly flat from the bottle. Slightly more cloudy on draught.

I love the nose on this one - Oak with a slight smokiness to it as the name would suggest.

The flavour is a rich apple with a fair amount of smoked wood, but without the astringency you get with many oak matured ones. Bits of spice, vanilla and bittersweet apple all mixed up in there but with a little tartness to balance it out. Fairly short bittersweet aftertaste but it's quite pleasant.

On draught, the smokiness is slightly less pronounced and I do admit I prefer it from the bottle.

I really do rate this one and I admit as it's getting more popular in Cambridge pubs I do tend to drink a fair amount of it but with care at 7.4% Was looking at the label and it includes wild crab apples which is quite rate now, but it does add a nice tartness to it

A blend of Dabinett, Harry Masters Jersey, Bramley and crab apples. No squirrels were harmed in making this cider I was assured.

7.4%
Blue Barrel Cider Smokin Barrels review
Blue Barrel Cider Smokin Barrels review
Blue Barrel Cider Smokin Barrels review

The Thorn

Medium Sweet

A new little number from Blue Barrel, so new it's not even on the web site

Straw yellow colour, cloudy flat.

Lovely fermented pear cider nose.

Soft not sharp pear flavour and lots of it. A fair amount of dryness and tannin on the teeth but that on the whole is a nice dry Perry. Nice long pear aftertaste smooth at the end.

A very nice solid little perry. Blue Barrel are going from strength to strength and they're getting particularly good at the Perrys.

6.5%
Blue Barrel Cider The Thorn review

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