I hope you enjoyed our chat with Jo and Paul, if you’re at an event in 2024 (and beyond) and you see Temple Cider on the list of attendees, go and seek them out for a friendly and informative exploration of their drinks. They’re a great pair of cidermakers! It strikes me that they have a cider for every type of cider drinker out there – the curious single variety explorer; the casual can on the train home commuter; the 500ml bottle or BIB from the pub fridge dilettante; the inquisitive friends over for a meal who want to share a 750ml bottle. When their perry becomes available, they really will have a full roster of presentation styles to suit any palate. 

At the time of writing these drinks reviews (tailend of 2023) the 440ml cans were new to market, joining an illustrious full juice crowd that includes Nightingale – with their Wild Disco, Night Bird, Falstaff Bramley, and soon-to-be released Egremont Russet and Beardspoon with their Undecider’d. I know Whin Hill Cider & Perry from my neck of the woods in Norfolk have been interested in launching a canned cider for a year or two, but finding somewhere with extra capacity to contract can is proving challenging. 

If this review whets your whistle and has you hankering for a deep dive, or even gentle easing, into the world of Temple Cider, you can order direct from their website. I myself got my bottles and cans as part of a mixed case from the excellent Elston & Son – a specialist in West Country Food & Drink – who are curating an ever more intriguing list of ciders and perries, including some that you won’t find with ease elsewhere online. Without much further ado, onto the reviews!

Temple Cider Somerset Redstreak 2022 – review

How I Served It: Fresh the fridge after around 5 hours chilling. It does have a cute sticker on it advising this.

Colour: Pure Irn-Bru shimmer, with a light mousse appearing from the effervescence in the cider. Was it Blackthorn in a can many moons ago that had this vibrant orange hue too?

On The Nose: Quite a soft nose for that decent level of fizz. Got an apple purée mixed with raisins, almost a boozy apple chutney note. Very appealing.

On The Palate: Bone dry, juicy and tannic – the sugar train has well and truly pulled out of the fermentation station here. These are those beautiful apple-skin, orchard floor tannins that you get from certain bittersweet varieties. Can see why this is a popular commercial variety (see my review of Thatcher’s Cider Barn Single Variety ciders from early in 2023 for proof of its popularity with a slightly more macro-sized producer). The briefest flicker of astringency on the sides of your cheeks to finish.

In A Nutshell: Amazing value for a £3.50 440ml can of bone dry, single variety, live, naturally sparkling cider. It’s ticking all the boxes!

Temple Cider Yarlington Mill 2022 – review

How I Served It: Again, following that adorable little sticker, the can has been in the fridge all afternoon, whipped out this evening by the fireside.

Colour: A deeper, richer, darker orange than the Somerset Redstreak. Marmalade with whisky added, that very specific shade.

On The Nose: Oh, Tis the season after all! Stewed apple that whisps around the glass into a Christingle candle aroma of orange, spice, and waxy wick. It’s almost mulled without the addition of anything else other than the gorgeous Yarlington Mill juice. 

On The Palate: Another boldly dry cider from Temple cider! The pine and willow bark on the floor of a woodshed (or wherever you choose to store your logs if that’s your heating regime). Followed by the driest Terry’s Chocolate Orange you’ve ever nibbled on – let’s call it Edwardian Terry’s Chocolate Orange (they did a Chocolate Apple after all from 1926 – 1954). 

In A Nutshell: Goodness me, this is an aroma and flavour extravaganza, one to get the synapses firing! I was unprepared for how good this would be from the humble 440ml can. One to pull out at festive get-togethers and really surprise your guests who may not have thought of a cider in late December/early January.

Temple Cider Kingston Black 2022 – review

How I Served It: The final sticker instruction follow. It has been chilled for the sticker said so.

Colour: Somewhere between Lemon and Orange, shall we settle on a Clementine? Consistent level of effervescence to these three canned releases.

On The Nose: A beguiling nose, and I’m here for that! Apple with a squeeze of lemon fresh for added citric goodness. No hint of the 8.4% abv.

On The Palate: Super clean, a very accessible, balanced profile of this much-heralded variety of cider apple. I’m not always drawn into its orbit, but this is working very well. That extra acidity is making my lips tingle, but it’s all good.

In A Nutshell: For those that love this variety, it’s a brilliant single variety expression of Kingston Black. For those not so familiar with it, or cider at this strength, you would not know you’re sipping on an 8.4% abv beverage. Accessible and well-made, bringing more people into the single variety tent.

Temple Cider Coat Jersey 2021 – review

How I Served It: Straight from a day in the fridge

Colour: Golden sunset, very light level of fizz, with a mild haze to the cider.

On The Nose: Stewed apple, bit of white pepper and clove, an Autumnal/Wintery nose.

On The Palate: There’s a juicy, yellowish note to this on the palate – somewhere between a yellow-skinned apple and yellow plums. Absolutely full-bodied, dry, and tannic. With a fortified wine finish, thinking Sauternes or Pineau des Charantes. 

In A Nutshell: Didn’t know what to expect from this single variety, of which I hadn’t seen before in bottle. Temple are doing here what Ross on Wye do so well – introducing a new variety to the senses, which is a great thing. Love the Guinea Fowl watching the sunset on the label too!

Temple Cider Whisky Barrel Aged – review

How I Served It: Fresh from a day in the fridge.

Colour: Back to that rich, marmalade, viscous, still presentation.

On The Nose: Apple crumble and oak cask, though if I’d been nosing this blind I’d have said rum rather than whisky. Got a molasses and lime aroma to it which is very appealing.

On The Palate: Still presentation, with a really rich tannic nature. Think your Rioja’s and oak -aged Côtes Du Rhône red wines, but in apple form. This would go so well with a Sunday Roast or Venison steak, sloshing about in gravy, and accompanied by this supremo cider. Juicy and mouthcoating. 

In A Nutshell: A child of 2020 cider – this is a bombastic, flavourful drink that was amped up by spending 3 months post-fermentation in freshly emptied whisky barrels. Stock up for this Winter’s Sunday Roast accompanying drinks.