british cider

The Best Cider to Enjoy this Summer

the best cider to enjoy this summer the three drinkers

A cold sip of cider under the summer sun high in the sky – ah, beautiful. Far too often overshadowed by its rivals, the right cider can be pitch-perfect for thirst-quenching, easy drinking fruit and crisp lightness.

The barrage of sweet and fruity flavoured expressions some years ago now helped relaunch cider to the masses, and these light, easy-drinking numbers (when done well) are crying out for summer sipping. Some hearty apple ciders are probably best enjoyed in colder months, but there are tonnes of crisp creations made to cool you down in the basking sun too.

Unfortunately, unless you’re a regular drinker, cider can be one of those drinks where a bad bottle can put you off for life. Or perhaps it didn’t even need to be bad – maybe you just tried a super tart apple cider when you like sweet and fruity numbers? Or maybe you got burnt by a cloyingly sweet berry cider when you like complex wine-style apple ciders? Give it another go!

These selections go through various apple, flavoured and low-alcohol ciders that are crying out for a summer session, from supermarket bargains to complex characters. Let’s go scrumping.

APPLE CIDERS

Henry Westons Vintage Cider

henry westons the best cider to enjoy this summer the three drinkers

Sometimes the best-selling drink in a certain category is a mystery to us, but when it comes to this being Britain’s best-selling cider, we know exactly why. Medium dry, a deep oaky flavour anchors every easy-drinking sip. The texture is full-bodied as the apple steals the show, delivering just the right kick of sweetness alongside tart fizz. A really well-rounded summer sipper.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 8.2%
Find here: £2.60

Cornish Orchards Golden Cider

cornish orchards the best cider to enjoy this summer the three drinkers

A chilled glass of this is superb on a hot summer’s day. Cornish cider is legendary and here the mix of dessert and bittersweet apples produce a wonderfully refreshing balance of tasty and refreshing. It has a lovely crisp and clean feel to it too which you want on a hot day.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 5%
Find here: £2.50

Frome Valley Henney's Dry Cider

henney's dry cider the best cider to enjoy this summer the three drinkers

You can find this at most UK supermarkets and most cider enthusiasts will know it. They’re a small independent cider maker using locally grown apples to make this award-winning completely natural cider. It’s clean and smacks of quality beyond its price. It isn’t the fizziest, but still brings crisp refreshment. Poised perfectly.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 5%
Find here: £2.50

Showerings Triple Vintage Cider

showerings the best cider to enjoy this summer the three drinkers

From the 1950 Brewers Exhibition to the latest IWSC and Great Taste Awards, Showering have been winning awards for their Somerset cider for years and it’s easy to see why. The finest local late-season Dabinett apples are picked at perfect ripeness just seven miles from their Shepton Mallet cider mill, bringing interesting bitter orange notes. These three vintages combine for a lightly carbonated, dry, tannic cider, with the 2021 crop injecting light freshness and the older vintages giving great characterful depth. A must-try for all cider lovers.

Size: 375ml
ABV: 6.8%
Find here: £45 (for 12)

FLAVOURED CIDERS

DukesHill Whisky Cask Cider

dukeshill whisky cask the best cider to enjoy this summer the three drinkers

From the Royal Warrant-boasting DukesHill comes this beautiful whisky-aged dry cider. Whisky isn’t the first thought when summery cider enters the mind, but here the six months of single malt Scotch ageing just impart some delicious notes of oaky vanilla and honey. It’s ridiculously smooth with a perfect kiss of golden richness and the bottle is a beauty too.

Size: 330ml
ABV: 6.7%
Find here: £16 (for 6)

Lilley’s Mango

lilley's mango the best cider to enjoy this summer the three drinkers

Somerset producer Lilley’s have mastered something that isn’t easy to do. Sweet, fruity ciders are what increased its popularity but many of these can be horribly cloying. Lilley’s have a really fun range of inviting flavours that are mainly sweet, but tasteful and refreshing with it too. Rhubarb, Pina Colada, Woo Woo, Passion Fruit Martini, Rhubarb, Peach… the list of flavours goes on, but their Mango is beloved.  Aromatic mango takes the baton from tart apple for mouthwatering tropical flavour.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 4%
Find here: £2.50

Galipette Rosé Cidre

galipette rose cidre the best cider to enjoy this summer the three drinkers

This stubby bottle stands out on the shelf, and the next thing you’ll notice is the French name. Galipette’s apple cooperative is the oldest of its kind in France, uniting apple growers from Brittany to Normandy. Made with rare, red-fleshed Pommes à Chair Rouge, their Rosé has a beautiful colour to it – but one that naturally varies slightly with every harvest. The ancient process of ‘keeving’ prevents the wild yeast fully fermenting, so natural sweetness is maintained, backed up by bright, fresh acidity. Perfect in the sun and a charming little bottle too.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 4%
Find here: £2.50

Old Mout Cider Kiwi & Lime

Old Mout Cider Kiwi & Lime the best cider to enjoy this summer the three drinkers

Old Mout (actually pronounced Old Moot) make some really light and refreshing sweet ciders, and the Kiwi & Lime is crying out for summer sipping. It’s a New Zealand cider that’s blended with kiwi and lime juice for loveable fruity fizz. The kiwi sweetness is aromatic and natural tasting, avoiding the pitfall of many similar ciders. The zesty lime balances things out nicely with a gentle tang. Incredibly drinkable.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 4%
Find here: £2.50

NO-LO CIDERS

Stowford Press Low Alcohol Apple Cider

Stowford Press Low Alcohol the best cider to enjoy this summer the three drinkers

No, not all No-Lo cider tastes like fizzy apple juice. This Stowford Press bottle scooped up some prestigious awards at the Cider Masters, praised for its surprising depth of flavour. Expect apple slices rolled in honey, seductive smoothness, and total refreshment. Really well done.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 0.5%
Find here: £2

Phantom of the Orchard Lo-Alcohol Cider, Cotswold Cider Co.

Phantom of the Orchard  the best cider to enjoy this summer the three drinkers

This picked up the top award in the Low & No category at the International Brewing and Cider Awards 2023, off the back of 2 Great Taste Award stars. Full-flavoured and cloudy, the apple begins crisp and smooth before deepening with a richness – it packs a surprising punch for 1% ABV. Great balance of sourness, tannins and sweetness. It’s unfiltered so give it a good shake before serving!

Size: 330ml
ABV: 1%
Find here: £2.25

 

If you want more cider recommendations, then check out our Best of British guide here!

The Best British Ciders To Try

the best british ciders to try the three drinkers

For a long time, cider lagged behind British icons such as craft beer, gin, and whisky but that is changing. Over the last decade, modern British cider has generated more and more anticipation and interest, and competition is intense.

For those of you that want to explore the flourishing scene, or for those card-carrying cider guzzlers who want to try something different, explore our tried and tested Best British Ciders below, just in time for World Cider Day!

WHAT IS CIDER?

In a nutshell, cider is an alcoholic drink most commonly made using fermented apple juice, so similar to the winemaking process. However, because the fruits used contain less sugar, the alcoholic content normally ends up being lower. It’s been around since the Romans, but in the 13th century it really took off when people found out it was actually safer to drink than the water in many places!

Often more associated with beer, cider is more like wine in that the terroir, temperature, and apples (though not just apples!) create completely unique and varying regional profiles. From dry to sweet and modern to traditional, every cider is different.

It’s worth pointing out that in America, ‘hard cider’ is alcoholic but ‘sweet cider’ is often more of a fruit juice. France, Spain and the USA all produce fantastic ciders, but British Cider is some of the finest so let’s get stuck into the most common kind of cider you’ll find – apple.

APPLE CIDERS

Cornish Orchards Golden Cider

the best british ciders to try the three drinkersCornish Orchards Golden Cider

Cornwall produces some mouth-watering ciders, and this is a classical fruit-forward expression. Fantastically fizzy, a variety of bittersweet and dessert apples dominate this crisp and ultra refreshing cider. For a hot summer day, a chilled serve of this is perfection – clean, ridiculously easy-drinking and full of flavour.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 5%
Find here: £2

Henry Westons Vintage Cider

Henry Westons Vintage Cider the best british ciders to try the three drinkers

Since Henry in 1879, generations of the Weston family have been producing cider in the Hereford village of Much Marcle. They scooped a double gold for this Vintage and their cloudy version at the Cider Masters Awards last year, and for another cider, we’ll revisit later! This mellow but full-bodied blend carries an oaky, deep flavour that allows apple to be the star of the show, in a silky smooth medium dry mouthfeel. There’s a reason it’s one of the UK’s most popular ciders and at 8.2%, it really is dangerously moreish.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 8.2%
Find here: £2.10

Burrow Hill Sparkling Cider

the best british ciders to try the three drinkers Burrow Hill Sparkling Cider

Cider has been made at Burrow Hill for centuries and all this experience has led to huge success at the national championships. Behind that gorgeously designed bottle is a medium dry pour revealing red apple skins and autumnal notes of warming cinnamon and zesty orange. At the centre of it of course, is the apple, eleven varietals of which meld for a robust and bittersweet flavour. This also screams food-friendly and would be a great one to crack open at the BBQ. Burrow Hill is also home to the innovative Somerset Cider Brandy which is definitely worth a look and a try too!

Size: 500ml
ABV: 6%
Find here: £3.15

Gospel Green Brut Cider

the best british ciders to try the three drinkers Gospel Green Brut Cider

Hailing from Hampshire, this is a premium pale gold cider made using the same production techniques as Champagne. Double fermentation adds new levels of complexity with tantalising elderflower and brioche supporting the zip of green apples. With fine bubbles, light acidity, and velvety smoothness, this traditionally made expression is a fantastic cider to try if you love sparkling wines and want something new.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 8.4%
Find here: £12.99

FLAVOURED CIDERS

Thatchers Blood Orange Cider

the best british ciders to try the three drinkersThatchers Blood Orange Cider

This is a stunning sweeter style of cider flavoured with natural blood orange for sweet, tangy, and floral feel. Sweet apples like Fuji and Gala have been picked to make this bottle of summertime that hits with flavoursome fizz before mellowing into well-balanced vibrance. Some flavoured ciders are sickly sweet, but even at 4% ABV, this gets it just right.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 4%
Find here: £2.30

Brothers Toffee Apple Cider

the best british ciders to try the three drinkersBrothers Toffee Apple Cider

Brothers are relatively new kids on the block and have already built a reputation for experimenting with all kinds of curious flavours from Cherry Bakewell to Rhubarb and Custard. Beginning life as a stall at Glastonbury in 1995, drinkers wanted to buy the cider all year round and the rest is history. Their Festival Apple is the go-to cider for the upcoming festival, but it’s their Toffee Apple that we want to shout about. Undeniably, this is a sweet cider that won’t appeal to some, but we say give it a chance. There are still subtle sharp apple notes, but mostly it’s that instantly recognisable toffee apple flavour with vanillery cream soda. A far cry from traditional farmhouse apple cider sure, but for something totally unique as a treat, it’s delicious.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 4%
Find here: £2.45

Napton Cidery Recipe No5

the best british ciders to try the three drinkers Napton Cidery Recipe No5

For such a new producer, Napton has made a big cider splash. What started as a hobby making use of unwanted apples from the nearby village has become a top-class cidery on the national and even international stage. Recognized by the great taste awards and International Cider Challenge, their only fruit cider, blackcurrant, is dreamy. Fresh blackcurrants bring all the sweetness to a super elegant and refined cider.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 4%
Find here: £3.50

Lilley's Mango Cider

the best british ciders to try the three drinkersLilley's Mango Cider

Somerset producer Lilley’s provides a fantastically varied range, but their Mango is a favourite of ours. It’s light and aromatic but with exotic mango sweetness providing great oomph. There is no cloying sweetness and certainly no blandness, just sunny refreshment, and fantastic natural flavour. It’s also a dream to wash down Indian food with.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 4%
Find here: £2.35

NO/LOW CIDERS

Westons - Stowford Press Low Alcohol 0.5% Cider

the best british ciders to try the three drinkers Westons - Stowford Press Low Alcohol 0.5% Cider

One of the highlights of the most recent Cider Masters was the high-standard of low-alcohol entries, and this Stowford Press cider has stunning depth of flavour and character, earning it the Gold medal (the latest in a growing list of gongs by the way). Bittersweet with apple and honey notes, it’s gorgeously smooth and refreshing and makes for the perfect summer sipping alternative.

Size: 500ml
ABV: 0.5%
Find here: £1.80

 

Prefer cocktails on a sunny day? Check out The Most Popular Cocktails for Summer here! Or how about combining the two with these glorious Summer Cider Cocktails!?