Reveller by Orchard Pig

It’s a bloody hot Friday afternoon. It’s been a long week. This is the Reveller, the side of the bottle says its refreshing and I hope its right.  Coming in at 4.5% the Reveller is one of Orchard Pigs lighter offerings. Designed as their “pub product” available in bottles and on tap. Although, it’s only on tap if you lucky enough to be in a quality British pub. My tasting was from the bottle. I paid $8.50 for a 500ml bottle from a specialist bottle shop in the Sydney CBD. It might seem a little dear but is probably a low volume import and its a biggish bottle.

Tasting Notes

The bottle says to serve “well chilled” so I served it straight from the fridge with a couple of ice cubes in a pint glass.

The Nose

The scent of orchards and fallen apples is the first thing that hits you. The light fizz carries notes of over ripe apples creating an image of wind fall apples lying on the orchard floor with the “Orchard Pig” rooting about and gobbling the last of the season’s fruit.

The Taste

The over ripe apple aroma flows into a lovely baked apple taste. Rating a medium on the sweet/dry scale I found it surprisingly dry. With many ciders on the shelf being super sweet at the moment the dryness is refreshing change. The Reveller is a slightly cloudy craft cider not an apple flavoured alchopop dodging high taxes. The Orchard Pig range is known for punchy flavours and the Reveller has a good mix of tannins and the appropriate amount of sweetness.

Pairing Ideas

The dry tartness makes it a drink you could have a few of at the pub. It would be ideal to pair with pub grub. Cutting through and cleaning the palate when your eating a bowl of chips.

Final Thoughts on Reveller by Orchard Pig

I have to speak highly of the Reveller and of the creators at the Orchard Pig. Riding high on the resurgence cider has experienced in the UK before spreading to Australia. The Orchard Pig brewers seem to have more integrity than some of the bigger “over ice” cider makers. Slick marketing and packaging should help to bring this drier more traditional British style cider to a wider audience and for that they must be congratulated. Worth grabbing a couple to share with the boys.

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