Weston’s Old Rosie

Old Rosie, that old steam engine in Herefordshire or that blush in the old man’s cheeks after a few ciders in a warm pub. But this Old Rosie combines those into a big bottle of Weston’s Old Rosie Cider. 

So, let’s talk about the bottle. This is 2 litres of cider for $20 which is pretty good value for money for about 13 standard drinks. Old Rosie used to be stronger but probably due to tax laws it has been reduced from 7.3% to 6.8%. Don’t worry about that too much. It still kicks like a mule on a freight train. The 2-litres bottle is difficult to pour from unless you do the over the elbow trick.  

Calling it “The Orginal Cloudy Cider” is a big call. Cloudy Ciders have been around since the beginning

The name Old Rosie comes from the steam engine that would have been used in the area but has now been restored and makes appearances at the local shows and for visitors to the factory to get a photo with.

2 years ago I visited the Westons factory. They were struggling to get enough CO2 to carbonate their ciders because of Brexit (Insert witty political satire here) But luckily for us, this is very much a still cider. It combines a whole bunch of local cider apples to create a mass-market version of a traditional Herefordshire style cloudy cider. This is the modern equivalent of thing that the farmer would have been paying their farmhands, for the last few hundred years for a day’s hard work.  

The Nose 

This has a pleasantly sweet nose full of apple blossom and a bit of that sugary dessert apples and heaps, bag loads of brown sugar offsetting the high notes of honey.  A few earth tones but they seem like they are just there to make up their numbers. If this was a horror movie the earthy tones would be the first to have disappeared by now. 

The Taste 

In simple terms, this is a medium sweet, still cider with a few hanging out the back chalky tannins. It’s a still cider, so don’t be expecting any bubbles, you have been warned. It’s a little bit spicy but easy to drink. It’s the type of thing you need to be about to finish in your lunch break before getting back onto the tractor (Not to be mixed with heavy machinery) 

Final Thoughts on Weston’s Old Rosie

Basically, if you’re not drinking it from a pint, you’re doing it wrong. If you don’t have a block of cheddar and some chutney, you’re basically a heathen. 

It’s not the best cider I’ve ever tasted but is not trying to be. It’s just like Old Rosie the steam engine, completely obsolete but it will still draw a crowd. 

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