Daylesford Scrumpy Cider

I’m about to open this bottle of Daylesford Scrumpy Cider. It’s been a while since I’ve been over to the UK to have a west country scrumpy so I’m very much looking forward to seeing and tasting what this Victorian cider is all about.

The Daylesford Cider team have combined their traditional apple grown in cool and sunny conditions with their own strains of yeast that have become dominant in their cider house over nearly 20 years.

So, for those of you unfamiliar with the subject, a scrumpy is a traditional farmhouse style cider from the western parts of England. Some say that to scrump means to steal, meaning a cider made from stolen apples. Others say It refers to a scump as anything small, small apples or a small production set up. These days some say it’s usage ranges from the derogatory, apple based booze for the sake of booze, all the way through to the most traditional and proper form of cider in the English-speaking world.

Normally a scrumpy is on the dryer end of the spectrum, still to low carbonation and often cloudy thanks to the farmhouse product lacking filtration.

The Nose

Daylesford’s Scrumpy is rather restrained. There isn’t much hopping out of the glass. It has a bit of a creamy vibe and a bit of apple flesh supplying a bit of tang but that’s about it.

The Taste

This is pretty smooth and extremely drinkable. I was expecting something a bit harsher, but maybe I’m used to my terrible homemade scrumpy’s.

There is plenty of appley goodness but it’s not heavy on the bitterness and acids. Textural this cider is low on bubbles and feels thick with the cloudy haze suspended throughout.

The finish lingers on with a medium amount of residual sweetness, probably a tick more than I was expecting. This is balanced out with a little hint of tannin.

Final Thoughts on the Daylesford Scrumpy Cider

Could easily knock back more than a sensible number of pints of this. It might be a little sweeter than your average scrumpy, but it is a whole lot more drinkable.

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