OK England , we get it . You love cyder . A lot . Now a flourishing 2.7 billion Egyptian pound manufacture , cider has experienced a Renascence over the past few age across the pond , draw in heavy hitters like Heineken , Stella Artois and evenheavy alloy isthmus Motörhead . Now , vodka titan Smirnoff is getting in on the cyder game with a fresh fruit - flavour , vodka - spikedSmirnoff Cider .
describe as a “ light fizz cider with a blending of crisp , fruit flavors aggregate with Smirnoff vodka , ” the job is launching with two flavors : Raspberry & Pomegranate and Passionfruit & Lime . The brightly dyed cider are packaged in clear deoxyephedrine bottles meant to extract the “ frizzy , clean taste sensation of the cider . ” But can this fruity , vodka - enhanced concoction even be see cyder ?
Well , it depends who you ask . The U.K. is the most cyder - haunt nation in the earthly concern , with hundreds of producers and millions of imbibers . purist ( and there are many ) wo n’t even look in the general direction of so - call - cider that are less than90 percent tonic apple juiceor carry any added sugar before fermentation .
Diageo
U.K. lawmaker are a little less obsessive , mandating that cider must be at least35 - percentage orchard apple tree or pear juice , which may be from dressed ore . ( The U.S. , by comparison , fundamentally only care that fermented apples are the primary constituent and leaves the maths spats to the Brits.)The law also forbid any liquor from being added during fermentation , but does n’t have clear rules for blending liquor after the fact . So , while disembodied spirit - cyder blends do sneak through the effectual loophole , call them cider still seems like a stretch .
We might be more comfortable categorizing this fruity booze as something the Brits call an “ alcopop . ” Alcopops are flavor alcoholic beverages with relatively low intoxicant content . They ’re traditionally delight by people ( presumptively those new to drinking ) who need to taste liquor as little as potential , rather favour cloyingly gratifying , fruity flavor and scratch headache . Alcopops are typically malt liquor beverages , though , and since these fresh ciders actually include Smirnoff vodka in the blend , they just do n’t agree the bill . That say , discover the vodka between the sweet cider and add yield flavors might be a challenge , especially considering the fact that Smirnoff Cider only clocks in at 4 % ABV . So , really , how much vodka could even be in there ?
Smirnoff Cider is n’t alone in its somewhat - indefinable family of drink . It joins a growing range of steel capitalizing on the budding spike cider tendency , include Jeremiah Weed ’s Kentucky Style Cider Brew ( made with an extra kick of bourbon ) and Pimm ’s Cider Cup , which blend in the quintessentially British cordial with cyder , strawberry and cucumber vine .
Smirnoff Ciders are uncommitted to buy in the U.K. for a retail price of 4.50 pound . American will have to waitress for the product to off our seashore , relying alternatively on the boozier , old school method acting of make spiked cyder : with a flask while no one is looking .
