Bottle... NTB Ernesto Festo ’06... Lightly hazed straw-colored cider with a small, fizzy, white head... gone in a flash. The nose is of sweet apple pie filling. Tastes like sweet, filtered, red delicious apple juice with corn syrup added... way sweet. Light to medium-bodied with just the tiniest bit of fizz. Sweet, apple finish. I have to go against the grain here, although I hate to do it. Not impressed at all... and I do like a good cider.

22 ounce bottle from Winooski Beverage in Winooski, VT (May 2008), served just above fridge temperature from a Chouffe tulip. Very slight fizzy head dies quickly, some bubble action continues in the pale faintly cloudy gold body for a while....nose is nice, very fresh apple juice, hint of tartness, but little complexity or farmhouse character....and body is more or less the same, much sweeter than a traditional English or French-style cider, if more "real" tasting than the typical Woodchuck soda versions....towards the finish there are hints of alcohol and some interesting mineralic notes, but overall this is simple and unsophisticated and only a slight step above those ciders sold in 6-packs that it seems to be trying to distance itself from.

This looks light apple juice, golden with a slight haze, no visible carbonation. It smells of sweet fresh apples, skin, stem, and all. The flavor starts out refreshing enough, sweet apple, but there’s a nail polish quality that seeps in midway through. Very distracting.

Sam’s Wine & Spirits, Downers Grove, IL