The Cider Diaries-8/1/09
My friend and colleague Sian made a confession to me at work today. "I can't drink cider, I haven't been able to since I was fourteen." This came as something of a surprise to me but what followed pretty much made my day. "I thought in the spirit of your challenge I should try to drink a pint of cider. But not when I've got work the next day. I don't know what happens when I drink cider anymore."
This is brilliant! Eight days in and already our challenge is inspiring others to drink and enjoy ciders. I've been thinking about this. Should I be advising her on what cider to try? And if so what would I recommend? Maybe I could buy her a bottle of something I think is particularly tasty. Or maybe she'd prefer to choose her own bloody cider? Who knows? Anyway, in my excitement I forgot to ask Sian what happened to put her off cider when she was 14...
Me and Reader met Fog and Emma in The End this evening unsure if there would be any ciders on offer that we hadn't already tried. Imagine my delight when I saw the words "Mulled Cider £1.50 a glass" written on a chalkboard at the bar. Fog was equally impressed, even more so when we were told to sit down and our drinks would be brought over to us.
The three glasses,(Reader abstained) arrived steaming, with a mixture of almonds and orange floating on the cider's surface. It looked and smelled delicious. I felt like I was very nearly a genuine drinks expert, taking in the aroma and picking up cinnemon and citrus in there. We each took a sip but before we could discuss the flavour we got sidetracked by something that was very nearly an argument.
We has asked at the bar and found out that the mulled cider was made with Strongbow. While I was perfectly happy to try the mulled cider, to discuss it and enjoy it as part of the wider cider appreciation experience, I didn't feel that we could fairly add this to our list as a new cider. After all, we'd already done Strongbow. You can heat it up and put bits in it all you want, it's still Strongbow.
Fog, Emma and even Reader, who doesn't even drink cider, were adamant that it should count. I stubbornly fought my corner and we appeared to be stuck in a sort of stalemate until Fog made the following gambit. "If we agree that The End's Mulled Cider counts as a new cider then we can officially extend the challenge from 52 to 365 ciders." I was dubious.
"We've already agreed that if we get to 52 we're not gonna stop, we keep going. You agreeing the aim is 365 doesn't make any difference."
"No, because if we get to 52 I'll not be as motivated. I'll be happy that I've completed 52. If we say the challenge is 365 I'll be pushing for us to drink more ciders more often and really aiming to hit that target."
I was surprised at Fog. 52 is beginning to look like it will be all to easy. How could he be really happy with such a relatively feeble acheivement. Would he really take his foot off the gas after that? He maintained that he would be happy that he had accomplished what he set out to do. He would have reached the target he set himself. But I had the power to extend that target. Let's face it, Fog had got my number on this one. I really didn't want to settle for 52. I wanted more and I wanted Fog to want more. The challenge would surely be easier with both of us aiming high? So....
16. The End's Mulled Cider
The End's Mulled Cider was sweet and warm, I thought it tasted almost more of orange than it did of apples but Emma disagreed. "It tastes like warm apple sauce," she said, later adding, "It's like a dessert, like apple strudel." Not a bad comparison. Fog agreed that it was delicious although he didn't like the bits floating in it. Once again he raised the idea of a net to put in the top of his glass.
I was very tempted to order a second glass of this lovely stuff but I couldn't. Not when there was another cider behind the bar still to try.
17. Kopparberg Pear Cider
This is probably the most common pear cider in pubs and supermarkets. A little sweet but very tasty with a good strong pear flavour. Fog described it thus, "It's like there's a sliding scale with pears on one end and cider on the other and this is more towards the pear side." Make of that what you will.
This is brilliant! Eight days in and already our challenge is inspiring others to drink and enjoy ciders. I've been thinking about this. Should I be advising her on what cider to try? And if so what would I recommend? Maybe I could buy her a bottle of something I think is particularly tasty. Or maybe she'd prefer to choose her own bloody cider? Who knows? Anyway, in my excitement I forgot to ask Sian what happened to put her off cider when she was 14...
Me and Reader met Fog and Emma in The End this evening unsure if there would be any ciders on offer that we hadn't already tried. Imagine my delight when I saw the words "Mulled Cider £1.50 a glass" written on a chalkboard at the bar. Fog was equally impressed, even more so when we were told to sit down and our drinks would be brought over to us.
The three glasses,(Reader abstained) arrived steaming, with a mixture of almonds and orange floating on the cider's surface. It looked and smelled delicious. I felt like I was very nearly a genuine drinks expert, taking in the aroma and picking up cinnemon and citrus in there. We each took a sip but before we could discuss the flavour we got sidetracked by something that was very nearly an argument.
We has asked at the bar and found out that the mulled cider was made with Strongbow. While I was perfectly happy to try the mulled cider, to discuss it and enjoy it as part of the wider cider appreciation experience, I didn't feel that we could fairly add this to our list as a new cider. After all, we'd already done Strongbow. You can heat it up and put bits in it all you want, it's still Strongbow.
Fog, Emma and even Reader, who doesn't even drink cider, were adamant that it should count. I stubbornly fought my corner and we appeared to be stuck in a sort of stalemate until Fog made the following gambit. "If we agree that The End's Mulled Cider counts as a new cider then we can officially extend the challenge from 52 to 365 ciders." I was dubious.
"We've already agreed that if we get to 52 we're not gonna stop, we keep going. You agreeing the aim is 365 doesn't make any difference."
"No, because if we get to 52 I'll not be as motivated. I'll be happy that I've completed 52. If we say the challenge is 365 I'll be pushing for us to drink more ciders more often and really aiming to hit that target."
I was surprised at Fog. 52 is beginning to look like it will be all to easy. How could he be really happy with such a relatively feeble acheivement. Would he really take his foot off the gas after that? He maintained that he would be happy that he had accomplished what he set out to do. He would have reached the target he set himself. But I had the power to extend that target. Let's face it, Fog had got my number on this one. I really didn't want to settle for 52. I wanted more and I wanted Fog to want more. The challenge would surely be easier with both of us aiming high? So....
16. The End's Mulled Cider
The End's Mulled Cider was sweet and warm, I thought it tasted almost more of orange than it did of apples but Emma disagreed. "It tastes like warm apple sauce," she said, later adding, "It's like a dessert, like apple strudel." Not a bad comparison. Fog agreed that it was delicious although he didn't like the bits floating in it. Once again he raised the idea of a net to put in the top of his glass.
I was very tempted to order a second glass of this lovely stuff but I couldn't. Not when there was another cider behind the bar still to try.
17. Kopparberg Pear Cider
This is probably the most common pear cider in pubs and supermarkets. A little sweet but very tasty with a good strong pear flavour. Fog described it thus, "It's like there's a sliding scale with pears on one end and cider on the other and this is more towards the pear side." Make of that what you will.
posted by Chris Chopping @ 4:29 PM
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