Merrydown cider was created by three friends Jack Ward, Ian Howle and John Kelland-Knight at Merrydown farm house, back in 1946. They each put in £100 to turn Jack’s wine making hobby into a business and produced their first 450 gallon batch of Merrydown Apple Wine. They had pressed the juice borrowing a local farmers 300 year-old oak press. Over the next nine years their production increaed to around 400,000 gallons. To this day the recipe used is the same as the one created by the three cider loving friends.
Merrydown - Original
ABV - 6.8%
Size - 750ml
Country - England
Region - Gloucester
Nose/Aroma - The nose on this cider is lightly fruity and quite vibrant. The apple is very subtle and not much else is on offer.
Appearance - It is a light golden straw colour in appearance with a very faint carbonation with tiny bubbles.
Flavour - It is a refreshing and very crisp cider with a medium dry to sweet finish. It is made from 12 different culinary or eating apples so it is lacking some depth and complexity but it remains fairly bright, dry and delicate with the apple that does comes through. It isn't overly carbonated, but they do use a champagne yeast which gives this cider some tiny bubbles to give a hint of a sparkle.
Overall Thoughts - The Original from Merrydown is definitely an enjoyable cider that goes down an absolute treat. It is very bright and fruity and quite nicely balanced. If you are after something that is very approachable this is definitely the one for you.
Rating - 6/10