Dry Cider

Dry cider is the crisp, tart face of fermented apples: pale straw to gold, still or lightly sparkling, smelling of fresh-pressed apple, orchard fruit and a squeeze of green-apple sharpness. On the palate it is lean and bracing rather than sweet, driven by a keen malic acidity that makes it exceptionally refreshing and food-friendly, with only a whisper of residual sugar. True West Country and Norman ciders made from bittersweet apples add a grippy tannin and an earthy, 'farmyard' funk that gives the drink real depth and a wine-like structure, while pale commercial dry ciders lean cleaner and fruitier. The finish is dry, appley and quenching, and it is this tart, sessionable dryness — not the sweet, fizzy commercial pole or the intense sweetness of ice cider — that defines the classic style and makes cider a natural, gluten-free partner for pork, cheese and shellfish.