Brothers Toffee Apple Cider is reviewed by Steve Crotty.
“The smell is Ronseal…”
Brothers Toffee Apple Cider
Brothers
ABV 4%
Brothers seem to market themselves as the BrewDog of the cider industry. Since their origins at Glastonbury Festival in 1995 they have established a fan base that is drawn to their unusually flavoured ciders and distinctly different marketing approach. One could argue that by marketing themselves as outré that they are actually cleverly appealing to the masses much in the same way as BrewDog, but that’s an argument best left for another occasion: I’m here to drink damn it.
The smell is Ronseal – it gives you exactly what it says on the bottle. The apple is present but is put in a fierce submission hold by the toffee, or more specifically a vast dollop of caramel. For anyone with a sweet nostril as well as a sweet tooth, this is the cider for you.
The real surprise with the taste is the clarity and quality of the flavours. Here the apple has clearly broken free of the toffee headlock and takes on your palate man-to-man. Strangely but wonderfully the apple is incredibly sweet whilst being moreish thanks to the sourness that attacks at the same time. Anyone who enjoys apple Fruitellas will feel at home here.
Backing this up is that thick presence of the toffee, which reminded me of caramel-flavoured condensed milk. It doesn’t take anything away from the apple, it merely complements it. Thank god for that sour apple hint though.
Make no mistake this is delicious. That deliciousness does come with an enormous however though. As I got to the bottom of my pint the sweetness became too cloying. I finished, and it was still enjoyable, but there is no way I can face more than one of these, and therein lays the essence of the problem with wacky flavours. They’re unpredictable, some can be delicious such as this, and some can be horrible. Either way though it’s likely that after one or two, you’re going to move back to something more familiar and less sickly.
