STRONGBOW: The nectar of the iguana

Strongbow, suitable for all occasions

Ah Strongbow. Bowjolais, ‘Bow, old faithful, the nectar of the iguana. The first alcoholic drink I ever liked, the one I have drunk most of, my tipple of choice.

It has that perfect combination of taste and strength; a taste of apples that is pleasing to the pallet, not to sweet, not too dry, not to gassy, a taste that never bores, even after several gallons in one sitting; a strength that will get you tipsy after a few, but not so strong you are falling down after three (more about those sorts of cider to come).

Suitable for all occasions, gigs, festivals, raves, parties, football matches, weddings, funerals, sitting in a pub, sitting on a bus, sitting in the garden, sitting in the house, for hot days and cold nights, to be drunk with a meal or to accompany a fine reefer. There are no occasions when it is not appropriate.. erm.. apart from driving. It comes in cans, glass bottles, plastic bottles, out of a tap and of course, in a pint glass.

Some like it chilled, which is glorious on a hot summers day, but it is fine when it is warm or even flat.

I know all of the above because I have drunk it in all these situations, and more.

When I were a lad it was not widely available in pubs so we often found ourselves wandering the streets sinking a few flagons before heading to the pub to drink pissy l*ger. These days though there are not many UK pubs that don’t serve it, which is handy. Cider, for some strange reason, is not widely available through out the world, or at least not as available as it is in the UK. This has led to trips across Europe involving large quantities of ‘Bow stuffed into the luggage to break the monotony of continental lager. It can be found on the continent, but it tends to be in pubs with names like ‘the George and the Dragon’ or ‘Paddy O’Riley’s Irish Bar’, which sort of defeats the object of going abroad, but it is necessary to make the odd sacrifice for a fix of the ‘Bow.... and fotrtunately 'Bow is the cider that these pubs usually serve.

These day there are several different versions of Strongbow, such as super strength versions, smooth versions and even non alcoholic versions (???). No doubt throughout this blog they will all be given a test run (except the one that is supposed to be drunk with ice… cider with ice in, how f*ckin’ stupid is that?). Given the fact that ‘Bow is the one we drink most, no doubt we will revisit the original at some point as well.

NAME: Strongbow

STREGNTH: 5.3% abv

TASTE: Dry side of medium

IGUANA RATING: 10/10 (The muts nuts)

BREWED BY: HP Bulmer, Hereford

BORN: 1960

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