The People's Cider Champion? Crafty Nectar No.7 Cider Review

The Cider Critic Reviews The World's 1st Crowdsourced Cider: Crafty Nectar No.7

This week is an “in-house” review and by that I mean I’m reviewing something that Crafty Nectar have produced. As I know very well from what they’ve sent me over the last few months, their taste in craft cider is spot on; they’ve found some fantastic drinks to share with you all.

However, this is taking it to the next level and is a really bold move from a cider subscription service; to put their name on the bottle.

If you’re reading this, then chances are you already know a bit about Crafty Nectar. Based in Shepton Mallet, Somerset and founded by friends Ed Calvert and James Waddington back in 2015, who both wanted to share the wonders of craft cider as widely as possible. Three years later and they’ve already created the biggest craft cider subscription service in the UK and Europe. The breadth of their reach is outstanding, bringing rare, unique and small scale-produced real cider gifts to your front door.

As Ed says

“Every cider is sourced directly from small independent producers – we want to give them a chance to shine, and for their products to get into the hands of the people that will truly appreciate them”.

On top of all that they’ve been working away getting as much feedback as possible to create the world’s first crowd/craft sourced ciders. These ciders are not based on James and Ed just tasting and blending what they like themselves (although they love both of course), they’re based on the tastes of their subscribers. Collaborating with Celtic Marches, who make quality Herefordshire cider, they have been listening and making adjustments as they went along and have hoped to capture what the true cider lovers want.

Featured: Crafty Nectar No.7 Top Imbibe New Cider Picks

All that work has resulted in the creation of No 7, described as “a Medium, mellow and sparkling craft apple cider…blended from the finest fresh pressed apples”

Crafty Nectar No.7 Craft Cider Review

Opening the can and pouring I’m greeted by a deep amber colour and a surge of fizz which dissipates very quickly.

On the nose it smells dry and tannic with rich pressed apple notes. The initial taste is one of a combination of tannic astringent (mouth drying) flavours but also some acidity. This is followed by a slight sharpness which makes you clap your tongue on the roof of your mouth.

The finish starts dry but ends with a sweetness on the front of the tongue and a slight dry at the back of the throat. “Medium” is a great description of this cider, but not so much that it sits in the middle of dry and sweet, more like it is a collision of both.

It’s interesting that they’ve used all bittersweet apple varieties (Michelin, Dabinett, Harry Masters, Yarlington Mill), but it’s no secret that the UK palate has developed into a sweet one. What Crafty Nectar have done with this combination of apples is bring in enough fruit sweetness to start to appeal to modern tastes, but also keep plenty of rich tannins for those who also want that depth of flavour.

"What Crafty Nectar have done with this combination of apples is bring in enough fruit sweetness to start to appeal to modern tastes, but also keep plenty of rich tannins for those who also want that depth of flavour."

James Finch Follow @thecidercritic www.thecidercritic.com