I hope you enjoyed the surprise and delight discovery of Jessica’s orchards up in the hillsides of Monmouthshire. The visit, coinciding as it did with the annual top-grafting work undertaken at Ross on Wye, I found to be uplifting and transformational. With such sustained blue skies and greenery everywhere, it was like the final banishment of a never-ending wet Winter here in the UK, and the start of the promise of Spring and Summer. I could and should have taken many more photos on that visit – I imagine it’s how painters feel when the light is just right for inspiration to commence a new landscape painting in oil or watercolour.

I’ll admit I didn’t really expect to be writing this drinks review part of the spotlight profiling – up till then I had assumed Jessica only worked with BIB as a way of presenting her beverages at festivals and country shows. Walking into the adjoined room in her cidery to see boxes and boxes filled with various bottles was a very pleasant surprise. There on the label were the Three Saints of Llantrisant brought to life in illustrative form.

“I asked for the noses to be drawn like pears,” said Jessica. “But I’ve had numerous people tell me they look like scrotums. I’m happy either way.”

All art can be interpreted in various different ways, should have been my profound answer. Instead, I just giggled.

Alongside these bottlings whose reviews you will read shortly, I also bought a selection of very tasty Three Saints vinegars: Cider, Perry, Damson & Perry, and Herby Perry (which has some borage suspended in it). They’ve been going down a treat on Fish & Chips, and in vinaigrettes but…this is Cider Review, not Vinegar Review (though sometimes the Venn diagram circles overlap). I mention these here merely to let you know they are all delicious, and seemingly sell easier for Jessica than her perry does – it’s a funny old world! Onto the main reviews proper…

Three Saints Potty Dry Perry (4.4%) – review

How I Served It: 30 mins in the fridge and then out into a glass.

Appearance: Hazy Peach juice, super light effervescence when poured in the glass. The craft beer scene has gone crazy for this type of haze of late – not sure it as popular in the cider & perry world.

On the nose: If I was doing this blind, with prior knowledge I’d say I was about to drink something by Bizio or a similar Basque Country Sidra producer. Slightest acetic twang alongside a fruit pastel/fruit gum sweet note.

In the mouth: That acetic suggestion continues, but it’s not overbearing. There’s a peach Melba sour gummy acidic note, followed up by some very mellow tannin on the back of the mouth which lingers after every sip.

In a nutshell: I believe this to be a single variety Potato perry, but with its relatively low abv and Jessica’s best before of Oct 30th 2023 on the label, I’m guessing this to be from a few seasons ago. Whether perry and cider need a best before, I’m not so sure. A season of harvest, vintage timestamp suits me better when navigating the origins of a drink. This would go down a treat in Spain, but might need a little bit of gentle guidance for the average UK drinker. Not least for those that have never heard of a Potato pear. Oh, the Potato pear rabbit holes to scurry down from here on in!

Three Saints Top Tree (6.5%) – review

How I Served It: 45mins in the fridge, then out onto the balcony.

Appearance: Irn Bru-infused marmalade. Crystal clear clarity, no discernible effervescence.

On the nose: Getting an orange-spice, treacle, Christingle nose. That’s it – incense, clove, candles, and orange skin. Unexpectedly festive and/or wintry. Very, very unique.

In the mouth: There’s a rich, fortified note to this that I was not expecting in the slightest. Like you’ve started to mull some cider or perry, and sloshed in a good glug of brandy or calvados. I have never tried any Mistelle before, but I imagine this is what it tastes like (looks for Adam for reassurance). Theres a good degree of tannin and acidity going on here, alongside some sugar I’m guessing to bring it up to a medium level.

In a nutshell: Top Tree by name. Top Tree by Perry-producing nature. Sits rather uniquely on the flavour profile of perry I’ve tried so far with both big bold acidity and  big bold tannin. Would be fascinating to dry this completely dry, if such a thing exists in Jessica’s cider & perry shed.

Three Saints A Bit Of Rough Dry Cider (7%) – review

How I Served It: Hour in the fridge, then stood room temperature for 5 minutes.

Appearance: Golden marmalade/electric tangerine. Super clarity to it, still presentation.

On the nose: The cousin of Little Pomona’s Art of Darkness, coming to visit for the weekend. By that I mean: Ellis Bitter! Clove, Black Peppercorn, Apple Fruit Roll-up.

In the mouth: Think there’s some Dabinett in here too as getting a lovely orange spice note on the forefront of my mouth. Follow by that lovely all-encompassing tannic tide from Ellis Bitter. Slightly viscous.

In a nutshell: I think that extra 1 or 2 % abv for this cider, compared to the perry reviewed thus far, adds real body to the drink…that and the party invite for Ellis Bitter to the blend! I’d like to see this slightly bottle conditioned and effervescent as I think that would elevate it further in presentation style. Fundamentally a cracking orchard blend cider, leaning heavily to the tannic side.

Three Saints Blush Medium Perry (5%) – review

How I Served It: An hour in the fridge to chill, and then served on the balcony.

Appearance: Peach skin, orange with a delicate pink flush.

On the nose: Honeysuckle and pomegranate, very aromatic.

In the mouth: 4.4 grams of sugar added per 500ml bottle says the label, and then pasteurised, so this is still in presentation and on the sweeter end of my preferred style of perry. Sweet stewed pear goodness, not much in the way of noticeable tannin. Think this would appeal to the unaware Lambrini drinker (if they didn’t see it being poured from a craft perry producer bottle).

In a nutshell: Crowd pleasing – the kind of perry I would expect to go down very well from BIB at a CAMRA Beer & Cider festival. The Best Before date of November 1st 2023 can clearly be disregarded here as it’s very much still in its prime.

Three Saints Nice Boys Medium Perry (5.6%) – review

How I Served It: A couple of hours in the fridge. 5 mins out to acclimatise.

Appearance: Lemon gold sunset, still presentation.

On the nose: Melon slices, lemon juice, very mild acetic note.

In the mouth: Surprisingly full-bodied, slightly viscous, more acidity here than I was expecting from a blend of pears that include dessert pears from those “Nice Boys” that moved to France. There’s a delicate pasting of tannin on the back of the mouth after each gulp. Lemon and honey syrup.

In a nutshell: The best before on this label stated September 20th 2021, and unpasteurised, but this clearly still has a lot of life left in it. A boozy lemon & honey lozenge is all I can think of now.

Three Saints Laughing Juice Sweet Perry (5%) – review

How I Served It: A whole day in the fridge and it’s warm out here this evening, so rather the perry is slightly chilled.

Appearance: “The colour from Jessica’s perries!” (I gasped this out loud). Looks far more like a tannic cider. Radiant Tangerine skin. Again, super clarity to the liquid, and in a still presentation.

On the nose: Pear juice, russeted pear skin…OK something akin to a conference pear juice, but there’s no way it’s that with this colour. This is from Perry pears!

In the mouth: Wowsa that’s sweet! I like that Jessica displays the 25grams of sugar per 500ml bottle. Considering Ross on Wye use 5 grams per litre, this tastes that 10 times sweeter. But I imagine there’s folk out there who are comfortable starting on this. There’s some decent acidity lurking behind the sweetness, and a brief flicker of tannin. But mostly it’s sugar coating my mouth!

In a nutshell: Unashamedly does what it says on the label. The deluxe box set release of Sweet Perry. With a Best Before on the label of November 22nd, 2025, I’m guessing this is from the 2023 or 2022 season… Does it mean the idiosyncrasies of the super unique and rare Perry pear varieties Jessica is working with get lost somewhat underneath all this sugar? Yes. Is there a place in the market for it? Absolutely.

Three Saints Classic Perry (6%) – review

How I Served It: A day in the fridge, then 30mins acclimatising to a very warm evening, before pouring this serve on the balcony.

Appearance: Almost leathery, a light teak wood varnish hue to it. Complete clarity on the liquid. After sitting for a minute, still as you like.

On the nose: I’m going back to this Mistelle note (or what I imagine a Mistelle tastes of): perry with some added liqueur. There’s something rich and unctuous on the aroma, suggestive of fortification. Maybe even the aroma of an Ice Perry.

In the mouth: Delicious interplay of a fairly tart acidity on the forefront, and this glorious mellow tannin on the back of the mouth, lingering on the teeth afterwards. Nothing added to this from what I can ascertain from the label in terms of sugar, just what the fruit gives, which is supremely confident, balanced and rather tasty.

In a nutshell: A single variety Burgundy Perry to look out for. The only one of Jessica’s releases presented in 750ml bottle. One that could really excite a number of people if it got properly out there and was more widely appreciated. This variety is not seen very often as an SVP, and based on this tasting, it deserves to be much more widely known.