Borrodell – The Comrade Cider

Today Borrodell is a winery in the central New South Wales town of Orange but it didn’t start out like that. The vineyard originally started as an orchard. But today some of those apple trees are getting a bit more attention. Inducing The Comrade Cider. 

In 1965 Borry (as in Borrodell) bought himself a block of dirt on the slopes of the areas’ tallest mountain in the area. The farm had been heavily tilled and was suffering from erosion. Eating apples were planted en masse to supply Sydney markets, in an effort to restore the land. As market forces changed over the years, many of the apples made way for cool climate grapes for winemaking.

Borry’s passion for conservation and preservation meant that some of the apples hung around with the establishment of a unique collection of over 180 varieties of heritage apples. Some of the more well-known heritage apples go into The Comrade Cider. including Kingston Black, Imporoved Foxwhelp and Somerset Redstreak.

The Nose

It’s all about the acid, its just wafting out of the bottle. Razor sharp apple cut through the slightest earthy notes with bit of a leathery whack as well

The Taste

Just like the smell, The Comrade a little acid bomb of cider. All of the bitterness of those old-timey British apples marches across your taste buds taking no prisoners. It’s only 5.4% but it tastes like it has got a bit more than that. It’s medium dry cider with lots of sharpness. It blurs the lines The finish is reasonable clean and crisp as the bottle advertises. A few bitter tannins hang around a little.

Final Thoughts on The Comrade Cider

After seeing the list of apples in The Comrade I was expecting a deep and juicy cider. I was expecting punk rock but got punk rock with a 9 pm curfew. A second bottle was needed. I realised that Borrodell has paired back The Comrade Cider into something much lighter, sharper and cleaner than your typical pommy funk monster. They have made a summer picnic classic with the impact to keep up with a pasta salad with plenty of olives and feta.

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