My friends know me as someone who enjoys a good cocktail or beer. I love going to craft cocktail bars, dive bars, and beer gardens. I never thought of reviewing an adult beverage, but when Angry Orchard asked me what I thought of their hard ciders, I couldn’t say no! Just look at this bounty!

I called up a friend to see if he’d like to do a little taste test and he said yes and made a little nosh to go with the beverages. I thought we might have chips-n-dips, but he went all out and smoked a brisket.

We took all the beverages out to the front patio to do a little sampling. As you can see from my photos, I was keeping it classy drinking out of mason jars.

We started with Cinnful Apple. It was like drinking a nice spiced apple cider. It was surprisingly refreshing and light with a small amount of effervescence. While I really enjoyed it, I also realized that it can be a sneaky beverage. At 5% alcohol it equals a beer, but because it’s slightly sweet, you can drink this a lot faster than a regular beer so be careful!
Result: Very good, but I’m calling it the Sneaky Pete.

We then moved on to Crisp Apple, which I suspected would be the typical type of cider you’re accustomed to. And I was right. But! The cider tasted like it was made yesterday with apples picked right from the orchard. It wasn’t as sweet as Cinnful Apple and you were definitely more aware that you were drinking an adult beverage. Crisp Apple contains 5% alcohol and I think I this would be perfect for when you want a beer but without all the heaviness. I could easily drink this with a burger, or brisket! I’m definitely going to add this to my beer rotation.
Result: Very tasty, solid choice.

We saved the Walden Hallow for last. It looked very impressive in its champagne shaped bottle. With an 8% alcohol content, we didn’t know what to expect. I scrunched my face with the fist sip. Boy was it dry. After the second sip, I stupidly realized that I should’ve had a palette cleanser before trying this one. Walden Hallow was special. I should’ve switched from mason jars to something a little nicer, for something so fancy! I’ve never tried anything like it. It had the taste and texture of a sparkling wine. I found myself reading the bottle to see what this was made of. Turns out it’s made with heirloom NY state apples. It’s definitely a vintage cider. I kept wanting to compare it to a Prosecco. The more I drank this one, the more I starting thinking about how this would be perfect for brunch. I tend to stay away from mimosas, so this would be perfect for me. By the end, I think this may have been our favorite. It was a great all around cider.
Result: Perfect. In a class by itself.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Angry Orchard. The opinions and text are all mine.