How to taste cider
A guide to approach cider
Cider tasting and wine tasting have a lot of similarities and one big difference–whereas you may have seen wine tasters spit out their wine, you will want to swallow cider to get all the aromas and nuances hidden in each sip.
As with tasting any drink, the terminology and sheer number of things to consider may seem overwhelming at first, but by breaking the process down into a few simple steps, it becomes a fun and straightforward process.
Preparation
Tasting cider should not be rushed, but should also not be overthought. Ideally, you will want to find yourself in a comfortable environment, where you can take notes and your palate is clean and unaffected by other products (food, toothpaste, smoking, etc.), although if that is not possible then don’t let that put you off enjoying your cider.
Ideal cider tasting conditions include:
- Good lighting
- Somewhere to take notes
- A clean, neutral mouth clean, unaffected by other strong flavours–Don’t brush your teeth right before tasting and if you have just eaten something, try to clean up your palate with some water or unsalted bread
- A lack of interruptions, so you have the time and space to enjoy your drink–whether that is a quiet pub table, or your own living room.
Cider tasting process
Like with wine, when tasting cider you will want to observe all of the visual, olfactory and flavour components that help you understand the story of that cider–What makes it different from other ciders, and what makes it similar to its siblings. A general way of breaking down the process is the following:
- See
- Smell
- Taste
1. See
At this point, we are looking at the color, the transparency and elements of carbonation if there are anny.
- Colour – What color is the cider? Ciders have colors that span from pale gold to rich amber. Try to describe the colour in the inner part of the glass and around the rim.
- Transparency – Is it transparent, hazy or cloudy? Hazy or cloudy ciders are often unfiltered, so picking up on this element can be a clue as to what to expect.
- Carbonation – Do you see any bubbles in the glass? Are they mild and almost imperceptible, or do you see them joyously rising towards the surface? Is there a foam on the surface of your cider or is it flat like oil?
Try to observe all these aspects against different types of background (white coloured works really well).
2. Smell
Smelling a cider is one of the most fun parts of cider tasting. This is when you may come across incredibly unexpected scents – like intense caramel notes in Pilton Labyrinth Daedalus 2024.
Sniff your cider the first time without swirling the glass – just stick your nose well into it, close your eyes and take it all in.
Aromas to to look for include:
- Acidity – is there any element that reminds you of fresh and vibrant juice? Is it pungent or mellow?
- Phenolics – can you perceive smokiness, nutty notes, or other earthy aromas?
- Other scents – is there something in there that is far from the expected apple juice smell? What does it remind you of?
Once you have done that, take a step back, swirl your glass a few times and then sniff it again. You will likely find that something has changed. That is because oxygen in the air reacts with the cider, exposing new aroma compounds. There is a fine balance of exposure to air–too long and your cider will start turning acidic. So don’t leave your bottle open for hours or days.
3. Taste
- Sweetness: does it taste sweet (maybe even syrupy), is it dry, or is it somewhere in between?
- Acidity: do you feel your mouth watering–as if you had bitten a citrus fruit–showing acidity? Or perhaps you don’t perceive any tartness at all?
- Tannins: what is the reaction of the cider on your gums? Is it astringent (you feel like your gums are retracting and you don’t have any more saliva) indicating higher tannins?
- Mouthfeel: take a gulp of cider and keep it in your mouth; when you have finished swallowing, how does it feel? Like you had a cleansing and refreshing drink or like if you are left with some coating in your mouth?
- Flavours/Aromas: this is the most complex and personal part but also the most fun. As flavours and aromas are associated with our memories, it helps to build up a mental library of different flavours to help you recognise what tou can taste and smell
When tasting, things to ask yourself are whether the cider are:- Fruit forward (strongly fruity) or not?
- What types of fruits do you perceive? Stone, Citrus, Apple, Pear, Tropical fruits, berries, etc.
- What is there beyond fruit–Spices, medicinal elements, Herbs and even mushrooms can all make an appearance.
- Finish: how long does the aroma of your cider linger in your mouth? Does it disappear as you have swallowed (short finish) or does it remain on your palate (long finish).
- If it does remain, do the flavours and aromas stay consistent, or do they transform, leaving to secondary or even tertiary aromas (complex, long finish)?
When tasting, things to ask yourself are whether the cider are:
- Fruit forward (strongly fruity) or not?
- What types of fruits do you perceive? Stone, Citrus, Apple, Pear, Tropical fruits, berries, etc.
- What is there beyond fruit–Spices, medicinal elements, Herbs and even mushrooms can all make an appearance.
- Finish: how long does the aroma of your cider linger in your mouth? Does it disappear as you have swallowed (short finish) or does it remain on your palate (long finish).
- If it does remain, do the flavours and aromas stay consistent, or do they transform, leaving to secondary or even tertiary aromas (complex, long finish)?
Important factors to consider when tasting cider
Temperature
Have you ever seen a wine tasting expert that make it a point to not taste unless the wine is at a specific temperature? This because temperature affects the way we perceive food and drinks; they influence the activity of taste receptors on the tongue, making certain flavors more pronounced at different temperatures. Check the bottle or maker’s website as not all cider should be served ice cold from the fridge.
Glassware
Try out different types of glasses–by selecting glasses created for swirling and for your nose to get close to the golden liquid (like stem glasses), you will notice that you are able to get more aroma nuances than you expected. Tall glasses will enhance the visual appeal of sparkling cider’s bubbles (in the same way as sparkling wine).
Food pairing
This is one of the most fascinating aspects of tasting. Choosing the wrong type of food can completely ruin your perception of a cider; on the other hand, a good pairing can enhance the cider’s characteristics and elevate it beyond how it would taste alone.
Like any good relationship, the best pairings are those that improve and complement each other, and in this case, make each bite of food call for another sip of cider and each drop of cider beg for another nibble of food.
As a general rule though, if you don’t know what to pair the cider to or it’s a new cider, try to keep your palate clean until you have had a chance to enjoy the cider on its own and can then make a decision as to how to pair it.
Cider Tasting order
Some ciders are more intense than others and starting in the wrong order might confuse your palate. If that happens, do not worry–cleaning up your palate is simple (a few sips of water will do the trick) and you can always move back and forth between different styles.
In general, I personally have found most useful to keep in mind the following:
- Dry vs Sweet: Start with dry cider and then move towards sweet and keeved ciders
- Single variety vs Blend vs Flavoured ciders: start with single varieties, so that – when your palate is the freshest – you can pick up small nuances. Then, move to the richer and more complex offerings.
- Young vs Oaked/Aged ciders: start with youngest, freshest ciders – they will most likely be uncomplicated and direct; then, move to the older ones, which will have potentially developed complex secondary and tertiary aromas.
Vocabulary for cider tasting
This is the part that is the most difficult because – despite the research done so far – I could not find a resource to guide me through the taxonomy of cider tasting. What I use here in Cider Notes is a combination of my personal experience and approaches used by several cider makers and tasters in England (just to quote a few: Adam Wells from Cider-Review.com, Glabe Cook The Ciderologist, Martin Goodwin-Sherman from CiderShit, just to quote a few), stealing a little from the world of wine tasting.
I have no doubt that the industry will develop a comprehensive taxonomy to guide us in describing cider, but in the meantime, here is what I will keep in mind:
- Identify a style: sparking vs still, sweet vs dry, eastern counties vs western counties, etc
- Fruity vs Earthy notes: when you sniff or taste your cider, does it remind you of fruit elements or something earthy like herbs or other aromas? Start there and try to narrow down the detail
I strongly believe that we need a clear taxonomy – similar to the wheel of flavours existing in the wine industry – to describe cider flavour options. Most importantly, clear guidance would help making sense in a fairly complex and unexplored like the one of cider. For new comers, having clear guidance on what to expect in the range of flavour could help educating and directing cider enthusiasts and would certainly support them in spreading the word about cider quality.