Batlow Premium Cider

Chances are you have eaten a Batlow apple; they are one of Australia’s biggest apple producers. Established in 1922, the cooperative is also one of Australia’s oldest. With this bountiful supply of apples, a cider was sure to follow. In fact ciders have been in Batlow almost since the beginning of the co-op. Just recently they re-entered the market as the demand for cider in Australia reaches an all time high, producing both a cloudy and the Batlow Premium Cider. Lets have a look at the premium.

A few weeks ago I meet Rich Coombes, the MD of Batlow Cider at a tasting event in Sydney. We got talking about the Australian Cider industry and the Batlow facilitates. The packing house is one of the largest in Australia. Every apple that goes along the conveyer belt is photographed 30 times. These photos are from all angles and light waves lengths, checking for blemishes. Anything that is still a good apple but to “ugly” for the shelves of the supermarkets are juiced. From here its used as fresh juice and made into Batlow Premium Cider.

The Batlow Co-op has huge cold storage facilities. This means that the cider can be made all year round from real apples. Its common place for some medium to large scale producers in the UK to make there own concentrate from their own in season apples to ensure year round production and a consistent flavour. Or worse import the concentrate from cheaper markets to keep the production cost down. Using real Aussie apples is something Rich Coombes was proud to say Batlow did.

“A cider made from Chinese apple should be labelled as a Chinese cider. There’s nothing wrong with that. An Aussie cider is made with Australian apples. But don’t call it an Australian cider if it has imported ingredients.”

– Rich Coombes

The Nose

There is a nice fresh apples smell, a hint of spiciness. The overall smell is bright and full.

The Taste

The Batlow Premium Cider is light yellow in colour with a slight green tint. It has very light mouth feel but is sharp and tangy. The sweetness is best described as off-dry to medium dry, it’s just a little sweeter than the Two Meter Tall Cider. Being from an eating apple area I assume that these have been used to make this cider, these are typically higher in acidity. It works well in this case, giving it a strong crisp taste. It is quite bubble which makes it all the more refreshing.

Final Thoughts on Batlow Premium Cider

I think one of the most telling things about this cider is how many it took to complete this review. To be honest I had to keep going back to the bottle shop to get a couple more bottles. I’d drink a bottle or two after work and forget to write about it. It’s just a nice refreshing and a great drink to finish of a hard days work.

In the interest of full disclosure I was given a sample bottle of this cider by Batlow Cider, since then I have purchased several more Batlow Premium Ciders to complete this review.

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