4% abv

The taste of orange is universal. It is a flavour enjoyed by many and very rarely hated. We pair it with duck, vodka, chocolate and toast. The list is endless. So it came as no surprise when Bulmers decided to add orange to their Live Colouful selection. But the thought of orange being in an apple-based drink makes me want to vom.

So far Bulmers has had much success in their flavoured cider range with cherry and red berries becoming household favourites. They are best enjoyed chilled at an ice-cold temperature in a pub garden. So I brace myself and take my Bulmers Zesty Blood Orange outside where I know I would enjoy it the most.

My first impression is that it tastes a little like orange tango or dangerously close to an orange soda that I had in America. It’s cut with flavourings so I am not surprised by the artificial twang it had. There was plenty of fizz and I have to appreciate this attempt at producing something far from the norm.

At 4% abv it tastes a little weak and leaves me with an after taste of orange cough sweets. There is a slight hint of apple but is clouded by the orange sweetness. It smells exactly like it tastes and like all Bulmers it feels a little sticky. I can imagine if you poured it on your hands you could climb up the wall like Spiderman. Don’t try that at home.

Its colour is dark and has a kind of amber traffic light glow. You could pass it off for Iron Bru WKD, which makes me shiver with disgust. I begin to debate whether Bulmers made this orange flavour for the colour collection or the taste. The taste is not repulsive but a little under whelming. Sickly sweet if anything.

The type of people that would enjoy this cider is the ones who don’t drink. And what I mean by don’t drink is that they don’t drink properly. I’d buy one of these for a friend who drinks alcopops and flavoured shots whilst shouting, “I’m so wasteeddd”. God help them.

Paired with Drinking In LA because it reminds me of colour and tacky drinks from the 90s.