So it looks like we’re in the thick of Fall now. That can mean only one thing; every food and drink gets a seasonal makeover with pumpkin spice and cinnamon variants! Okay, maybe not EVERY one, but it is a time-honored tradition for companies to crank out Autumnal varieties of their products and packaging from September to December. Don’t get me wrong, it’s silly but it’s still pretty tasty in the end. As celebration of the season, I’ll be taking a look at some seasonal exclusives of my favorite drink of all time, hard cider. Specifically, this post focuses on Strongbow Honey & Apple Hard Cider.

Strongbow is cool. It’s imported from England, widely considered by many to be in the Top Tier of hard ciders, and its packaging has some classy artwork of a dude with a bow. While the regular variety is a bit on the drier side, they put out this newer cider which adds honey into the mix. For the sake of covering my own ass, I am NOT going to explicitly claim this is a Fall-exclusive variety, however I haven’t seen it pop up anywhere prior to this Fall.

There’s basically two types of hard ciders out there: sweet ones and dry ones. The sweeter ones taste closer to regular apple cider but with alcohol, and the drier ones taste almost like champagne. This is definitely the former. Strongbow Honey obviously is a bit sweeter than their regular offering, considering honey itself is basically just pure sugar. The forefront of the taste is still the apple itself, but even the cider taste is a little more sweet and mellow than regular Strongbow. The honey flavor actually comes more as an aftertaste than you’d think, but it’s still really pleasant. Though actually because of that honey aftertaste, it dissolves some of that bite that alcoholic beverages leave behind.

Also, I love the little bee logo. It’s pleasant in a variety of ways.

Believe it or not, but the cider itself actually lacks much of the tang that most hard ciders have, as well. I can’t really say that’s a good thing or a bad thing since it’s really up to the drinker. Personally I like all ciders so I don’t mind the absence of a tangy flavor since it’s different, and really its own thing. The best way to sum this cider up is mellow. It’s really, really mellow. The cider flavor is sweeter than Strongbow as mentioned, but even that sweetness is fairly reserved. As a whole, all the flavors blend together really well, and there’s no bite to it at all. If you want a bite, go for something stronger. If you’re in the mood for a good sipping cider, this stuff is incredible.

Should you drink Strongbow Honey & Apple Hard Cider?

Yes