The Apple Thief Pink Lady Cider

Last year I had a look at The Apple Thief Granny Smith. Then The Apple Thief’s Pink Lady won the best in class at the 2014 Cider Australian Cider Awards and now my local is serving it. What better a reason to review this single variety cider?

Here we go, here’s a rare opportunity. In one hand I’ve got a cold glass Apple Thief’s Pink Lady cider. In my left hand is a freshly picked Pink Lady Apple, from the orchards of Batlow, stolen from the bar at my local. Hey the bottle told me to do it.

” Stolen fruit is the sweetest”

The Look

The outside of the bottle is easy to pick on the shelf. It is a jet-black bottle with an even blacker thieving bird on the label. It looks like its design to appeal to a feminine market, or maybe it’s a play on the varietals name.

Inside the bottle is a very pale cider, with just a hit of yellow. It really is the same colour as my stolen apple’s flesh.

The Nose

My favourite part about The Apple Thief’s is the smell coming off it. A gentle floral perfume. Sweet and elegant. Side by side with the fresh apple there is very little difference.

The Taste

It’s a simply formula. The sweeter the juice you start with, the more potential alcohol you have. Stopping fermentation early will leave you with residual sugar, letting it run will dry out the cider. The apple thief has shot for a 4.5% cider, which still leaves bags of sweetness left over. Not surprising considering how sweet the stolen apple was.

This cider is simply, everything you expect in a Pink Lady only now you can drink it.

Bright and fresh up front, exactly what you want for a light cider. The finish is long, lingering and leave you with a smooth coating in you mouth that’s full  of Pink Lady fragrance.

Final Thoughts on The Apple Thief Pink Lady Cider

I said the label was feminine. I don’t care if it is. My local pub is a great little brewpub full of hop-heads sipping Double IPAs, proper beer nerds. They serve this as one of their ciders, I’m happier drinking this than any of the beers or any of the other cider they stock at the moment. I really struggled to write this review, it was one of those cider that I drank quicker than I could write about it, and my better half kept helping herself to a bottle.

The only bad thing I have to say about this is don’t have it with spicy food. Most ciders go well with the heat, but something about the sprightly little bubbles only make it worse.

Being able to trace this cider from its apple form to its second life as a cider is a bit of a treat. The 2 are nearly identical. The only difference being the cider had lost a little sweetness to alcohol. If you’re the type of person who takes Pink Lady to work for a 3pm snack, grab one of these for 5pm.

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