Producer: Distell
Country: South Africa
Size: 33cl
ABV: 5%
Price: 22kr
Systembolaget: 88201
When I began my search for ciders to include in this tasting, I knew I wanted a range from different countries. I cast the net quite wide and went for all the countries that you wouldn’t instinctively think about when you think about cider. I was surprised to find that there was a cider from South Africa available in Systembolaget, and that it wasn’t crazy expensive or sweet. I jumped at the chance and after sampling it, I thought this would be a relatively easy cider to kick off the night with.
Savanna cider was very light crisp golden in colour with hardly any carbonation visible, which surprised me quite a lot. The aroma was of quite tart, crisp apple with a small amount of yeast. I wasn’t offensive but truth be told there really wasn’t too much to it. If you like cider, you will have probably tried Strongbow before. The taste of this was like a slightly watered down strongbow, that really is the best way to describe it. There was green apple sharpness accompanied by some a vinous mouth feel, drying and almost sticky. The fizz was more noticeable on the palate which lifted and freshened the cider. A yeasty, rough apple aftertaste rounded off each sip.
This cider was… adequate. I mean there wasn’t anything wrong with it, but it wasn’t particularly memorable. This is maybe a nice festival cider, but otherwise quite a middle of the road drink. I think it was nice trying cider from Africa though and I believe it is my first from that continent. If I could get my hands on a few more different ciders from there I wouldn’t mind, but I guess I will just have to keep my eyes open for future releases!