Cider Review: Sweden's Rekorderlig Makes a Stateside Splash
“Beautifully Swedish” fruit-flavored, low-calorie ciders for summer sipping
As an avid cider drinker, you often have to toe the line between traditional dry styles and super sweet, fruit-forward varieties. There’s room for both in most palates, but often the dry drinkers scoff at the sweet cider suckers, and vice-versa.
The new “lower calorie, lower sugar” Rekorderlig Cider — coming to us from Sweden, the land of IKEA and ABBA — falls on the sweet side of the tracks, but it’s a raw, natural sweetness that has been missing from cider shelves.
In English, “rekorderlig” means “reliable, trustworthy and down to earth,” and I’d say those are pertinent adjectives in describing these two ciders — Strawberry-Lime and Pear — top sellers in Rekorderlig’s line of five cider products. Other flavors available in the United States include Wild Berries, Passionfruit and Mango-Raspberry.
At 110 calories and 4.5% ABV, the ciders pack a carbonated punch from the first sip to the last drop. And the flavors taste remarkably natural, like you’re actually biting into a fresh-picked strawberry or savoring a slice of pear for a snack. In fact, both of these ciders (one a bit more than the other) actually take on the flavor profile of a cocktail rather than a gluten-free beer.
Strawberry-Lime
Remember that scene in “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” where the gang frantically licks the wallpaper and can’t believe the flavors seem so real? That’s what I felt like when I took my first sip of the Strawberry-Lime Rekorderlig.
“The strawberry tastes just like a frickin’ strawberry!” I shouted to my dog. And although he was unimpressed, I was blown away by the thirst-quenching flavors in this sweet cider treat.
Perhaps it’s because our palates have been trained to expect laboratory-concocted artificial tastes courtesy of the hard seltzer craze of late. Let me just say this: No White Claw or Claw knock-off tastes even remotely close to the fruit they claim to contain. But this — this tastes like you’re biting into a fresh-picked strawberry that you sprinkled some sugar on and seasoned with a squeeze of lime.
At only 110 calories (fairly low for a cider) and 4.5% alcohol, this just may very well replace the hard seltzers in my life when I’m looking for something light and refreshing.
Pear
Unfortunately, the Pear Rekorderlig wasn’t as flavorful as the Strawberry-Lime, so I won’t be licking that spot on the wallpaper again anytime soon. I thought maybe I wasn’t as into this flavor because I’m not really into pears, but then I thought about ACE Cider’s pear cider and had to throw that hypothesis out the window. (That’s a damn good cider, for all you sweet-tooths.)
This one fell a little flat on both the nose and the tongue. I would describe it as nondescript and forgettable. In fact, I had a friend try both with me, and she confirmed my assessment. “This pear fell far from the tree,” she added, quickly going back to the Strawberry-Lime for seconds.
I hate to outright dismiss this flavor because, again, I’m just not a fan of pears in general. But going from an outstanding product like the Strawberry-Lime to the mediocre Pear is like going from an Oreo to a Circus Peanut.
I’m definitely curious to try the other Rekorderlig flavors, especially Wild Berries. It could well be time to return to the wallpaper after all.