lostmyshape

hmm... i've tried quite a few ciders here in the US (Pennsylvania). eje is right. most american ciders are awfully sweet. Woodchuck (from Vermont, i think) has about 5 or 6 varieties ranging from Jolly Rancher to almost beer. i personally prefer the dryer, almost beer variety. also, if you have any micro-breweries (they're all over the place in the US), many will do a cider for the fall and they can be very good! i've also heard people say that strongbow isn't very good. although it's the only european cider i've tried, i really enjoy it. it isn't overly sweet or sour, and actually not too apple-y. i think that's why i enjoy it. the closer cider is to beer, the more i like it. if you can find woodchuck over there, try the amber first. it's pretty good. also, if you find a really sweet cider, making a half cider/half beer (try brown ales, maybe lagers) concoction can be really good!

so would I!!! thanks to this board (look, i'm not just a lurker anymore) i've discovered an intense love for the cocktail and tried so many new things, like marichino liqueur, Campari, and bitters. i was so excited to share this new love that my wife and i threw a cocktail party. when i started asking everyone what they want, i just got blank stares. so i tried asking what they liked... they didn't know. finally someone said, "i'd like a cosmo" and four others chimed in with a "me, too." i really wanted them to try something new, but didn't want to force the issue, so i made them Cosmos. i followed the recipe from the CocktailDB exactly (having never made a cosmo before... not a vodka fan). when they drank it everyone came to the same conclusion: "Ugh... tastes like vodka." WHAT??!!! of course it does... there's a lot of vodka in there. to make them happy, my wife just gave them more cranberry juice to dilute the whole thing so it ended up being about 3:1 cranberry to vodka... not really a cocktail. how in the world do you get non-cocktail or "Cosmo drinkers" to try something new? BTW... i tried an Aviation on someone who said they loved gin & tonics, but hated dry martinis. his reaction: "eh, this is ok." frustrating.