The aroma is strong. It smells like apple wine - which I guess is what it is. It has more of a wine smell than any of the other ciders I've had, and I have had quite a few. The color is a hazy bronze/gold with a head that comes out pretty thick, but it dissipates about as quickly as a Coke does. The aroma has me put off a bit, as I'm not really a wine guy, and I'd say this smells like a white wine with apple juice added to it.First sip is strong as hell. I mean, it's not a burning ball of fire like some of the moonshine that I've tried, but it has a very strong wine taste going on. I'm really surprised that apples can lead to something that tastes this much like wine. My wife drinks wine every now and then, and I asked her to give an opinion. She said that it tastes like a wine cooler to her, but it has more carbonation than she would find in one of those. Once she said that, it clicked, and I completely agree with her.
I'm going for a big swig to see if there are discernible apples in this thing or if it is just all wine cooler. Tip-in is a somewhat fizzy affair, with carbonation tingling the tongue, and the apples bring sweetness with them. The middle scrapes carbonation down the back of the throat very unceremoniously while tart, green apples flood the tastebuds. The finish is a hard and unrelenting bitterness with a strong sense of white wine that may have soured. The earthy notes are rough and ragged, and they don't counter the bitterness at all.
Bottom Line: If I was a wine guy, I might like this. It is definitely a departure from the other ciders I've had, but I think Angry Orchard has produced ciders that I liked a lot better.
1.5/5
