Willie Smiths Kingston Black 2022

It’s been 4 years since I last had the annual release of Willie Smiths Kingston Black. I very much enjoyed it back then. But the question is how has it changed over the years and is it still as tasty?

The old thinking was that you couldn’t make a worthwhile cider from one type of apple, these days that perception is quickly fading, There has always been one exception to that rule and that’s ciders made from the Kingston Black apple.

Since I last tried this vintage cider, Wille’s has changed cider makers and of course, there is the difference in the sessions which will never be the same twice. Some things remain the same. It still uses local apples and it’s still bottle conditioned. Bonus fact – This incarnation is 0.8% stronger so that’s something.

The Nose

Expect a large helping of stewed apple dancing in time with stone fruit. There is the smallest amount of rose blossom just sit-in there in the background waiting to be found.

The Taste

It’s tart, it’s dryish and it’s got a long finish. It is about as complex as you can get from a single variety cider. There is the slightest amount of that dry dusty near sheep’s wool funk that lets you know it’s a Willie Smiths without needing to read the label on the 750ml bottle, I like this about their ciders. Most of the flavour profile is so very typical of a Kingston black with that rich cooked apple flavour and solid tannins but what sets this apart is the zing of the lemon late in the sip. That citrus-themed acid is what gives it that long finish.

Final Thoughts on the Willie Smiths Kingston Black 2022

Last time around it had citrus but it was more like an orange here it is swinging into lemon giving it a little more freshness to balance the cooked apple flavour. It still has all the hallmarks of the Huon Valley cider makers.

It’s very much a cider lovers cider, it doesn’t hold back with ample acids, big tannins and a bigger flavour. I haven’t seen a bad example of a Kingston Black cider but this is a pretty bloody good one.

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