Silly Moo, Sussex, Unfiltered

4.2%, £2.50 (330ml), trenchmore.co.uk

The nose is orange juicy. It’s admirably medium dry; nice bit of tannic structure. Would be really nice with cheese. This is a cleverly made cider. A good start.
★★★★

Sandford Orchards, Devon, Devon Red

4.5%, £2.50 (500ml), sandfordorchards.co.uk

Crystal clear, a beautiful brightness. We’ve got a little bit of the hay barn on the nose. Light fruitiness, softer than the nose suggests. Light and lean.
★★★

Kentish Pip, Kent, Craftsman

4.8%, £24 (12 x 330ml), kentishpip.co.uk

It’s fresh, citrussy, almost stone-fruity. Really inviting. It smells like it’s going to have some acidity, which it does – zing, zing, zing! Really light, really poised and nicely balanced. A real thirst quencher.
★★★★

Ascension Cider, Kent, Pilot

4.8%, £3 (330ml), ascensioncider.co.uk

A considerable haze. A little elderflower and lychee on the nose. Quite juicy, like juice has been added back to it; quite fleshy and textural. Clean, fresh. I’d love the acidity to be a tad higher to balance the sweetness and luscious body.
★★★

Aipple, Fife, Medium Dry

5.4%, £4.50 (440ml), aeble.co.uk

It’s not massively aromatic which for an acid-driven cider is a key element. There’s a kind of pineapple-core taste. It’s refreshing and steely, but a little austere. Not bad, but not scaling the heights of what we’ve had.
★★★

The Newt, Somerset, No 3 Yarlington Mill Cyder

5.7%, £9.50 (750ml), thenewtinsomerset.com

A little shy. It’s hiding this abundance of tannic fruit. I want it to be bold and rambunctious but it is wearing some very sensible shoes. Some power but is not giving us its full potential.
★★★

Temple Cider, Dorset, Yarlington Mill & Michelin Keeved

6%, £8.50 (750ml), templecider.co.uk

Nice mousse, nice bubbles. Gosh; spice, clove, leather on the nose – big, tannic, western counties cider. Tongue-rasping astringency – a real textural beast, just lacking a touch of softness. Great! It’s for anybody into orange wine.
★★★★

Oldfields Cider, Worcestershire, Apple Fresco

6%, £6 (750ml), oldfieldscider.co.uk

Richly perfumed, perhaps made from a dessert apple. Really inviting; the balance is just right. A great example of a cider that can appeal to a white wine drinker. That’s a cider that is going to help change some people’s minds.
★★★★★

Perry’s Cider, Somerset, Redstreak

6.1%, £3.20 (500ml), perryscider.co.uk

Not so prominent on the nose. There’s a bit of astringency with a layer of slight caramel. This lacks a little complexity, but has good texture in there. It’s just sweeter than my palate would go for.
★★★

Oliver’s Fine Cider, Herefordshire, Pomona Rolling Blend 2022

6.2%, £3.60 (330ml), thefinecider.company

I find the acidic taste dominating. It’s a tannic cider. It’s got nice roots, but for me it’s out of balance.
★★

Dunkertons, Herefordshire, Black Fox Organic

6.8%, £2.50 (500ml), dunkertonscider.co.uk

I like the mixed peel on the nose; lots of leather. Nicely balanced, a little bitterness. Spice, clove, a bit of white pepper. The sweetness is perhaps a touch high, but I’d enjoy drinking this.
★★★★

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Nightingale Cider, Kent, Fledgling No 3

7.1%, £11.50 (750ml), nightingalecider.com

Like a grapefruit stuck up each nostril – in the best way. Intense, zingy, tropical fruit overload. A natural sparkle. Bone dry. Super refreshing. If you’re into natural wine, or anything intensely acid-driven, it’s fun.
★★★★★

Thornborough Cider, Yorkshire, Sparkling Brut

6.5%, £9 (750ml), thornboroughcider.co.uk

Nice tight-knit bubbles. Enlivening! But it’s really, really savoury. Bready, brioche, almost mushroomy notes in abundance. If that’s your thing, this is a great cider. I want a little more fruit. But it’s very well made.
★★★

Westons Cider, Herefordshire, Henry Westons Vintage

8.2%, £2.50 (500ml), westons-cider.co.uk

I can tell from swirling this that we’re at the top end of the alcohol spectrum. Nice texture; soft, a little candied fruitiness. The alcohol dominates a little too much for me. I think I know what cider this is …
★★★

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Sandford Orchards, Devon, The General Vat-Aged

8.4%, from £3 (500ml), sandfordorchards.co.uk

Nutty, earthy, muscovado sugar – this grows. Smooth and weighty; dark, brooding; intense fruits and so many spices. To have that much intensity and character, that is a cider for grownups.
★★★★★

All items blind tested. Gabe Cook is a writer, broadcaster and consultant, theciderologist.com