When I was moving down to Nashville and cruising around NashVegas, hitting local honky-tonks, drinking at dive bars, generally enjoying myself, one thing was apparent, Bold Rock owns the local cider market. Every bar I was stepping into has at least one Bold Rock on tap. And, when living in Illinois, Bold Rock was a brand with a solid footprint. In knowing the brand, and a few of their offerings, I wanted to delve a bit deeper. That’s when I reached out to their local rep, Kye, and he pointed me towards their full cider arsenal. One that peaked my interest was their Carolina Draft offering. I needed to review it. So, I said, to myself, O’Kye (too cheesy?), I need to bring this home, and, would you look, I am drinking it right now.
Bold Rock’s Carolina Draft, an amber apple cider, contains 14 grams of sugar, with an ABV of 4.7%. This cider has won 6 awards in its time on the cider market. A popular gal if I do say so myself. Bold Rock tells consumers that they use a “broad blend of apples from North Carolina to create this distinctive hard cider with rich complexity and superb drinkability”. Others have described it as crisp, light, and sweet & fruity. But, you didn’t come here for any opinion. You, kind souls, came here to hear me chatter.
My experience started with a swift pop of the cap off the bottle with my handy-dandy Bold Rock bottle opener. I had to complete the experience, you know. As I poured it, I smelled a light sweetness. The aroma is subtle and hides quickly. The pour played similarly. The pour had a nice head temporarily as it quickly fizzled down. The glass was filled with a lightly carbonated, amber-colored beverage ripe for the taking. As I sipped from the glass, I was greeted with a subtle sweetness, rolling into a dryness that moved further and further back on the tongue. The flavor was as close to carbonated apple juice as possible. But, I will say, it has more complexity than describing it as apple juice.
The take here was balance. I found the subtleness of each sweet, slightly fruity note to dance nicely with the most subtle dryness I’ve experienced. It houses a lot of flavor without an overwhelming sugar flavor or dry quality. But, it does contain a decent amount of sugar. The sugar content increased my salivation, making each sip a bit heavier and drier.
Outside of the thickness that sugar creates, the Carolina Draft is very easy to drink and doesn’t taste as sugary as it is. We give this cider a 3.75 out of 5. If you want to know more about the many flavors Bold Rock has, or where to find them, visit their website.