Whether I’m in my local shop, pub or tube station, I just can’t escape Jack Daniels. The company have spent countless years and pounds building their brand recognition to a point where no one asks for a whiskey and coke any more, they ask JD and coke. Good for them. It was Lemmy’s favourite drink after all. But now the company have done something unforgivable by making their way on to the cider aisle.

The new Jack Daniels cider is exclusive to the UK (at the time of writing) and is mixed with JD whiskey. Personally I would have preferred to have a whiskey cask cider instead of a “spider”. But, being one of the top selling whiskeys in the world, Jack Daniels knows what they’re doing…

Wrong. Jack Daniels cider tastes like a student halls drinking game. There’s no imagination here. Just a cider on par with Bulmers, mixed with Jack Daniels. Even the abv doesn’t make up for it- 5.5%. With that extra splash of whiskey, I’d at least expect it to make me drunk quicker. This is a mixture anyone could make at home, and probably taste better.

Either JD got this one wrong or they assume that their fans don’t have taste buds. They should probably just stick to whiskey. There are many better whiskey-ciders that you can find in supermarkets such as Blind Pig or Thistley Cross. Both blending the right type of apples with the right whiskey. I wouldn’t pick up a Jack Daniels Cider again because the only thing I enjoyed was the branding. Which is why I would pair it with Kiss’ “Dirty Livin'”. Make of that what you will.

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