Tawse – Sparkling Cider [The Wellington Gastro Pub]

Bar Review: Tawse – Sparkling Cider @ The Wellington Gastro Pub, Ottawa, ON
Sampled:
April 2016

The image3 (1)Wellington West area of Ottawa – west of the downtown core– has been booming the last couple of years, with many trendy, independent establishments opening for business. A true culinary gem you can find on this strip is the Wellington Gastro Pub, a modern, fiercely unique and adorable restaurant and bar. The restaurant interior has upscale furniture in a cozy, wooden and brick enclosure… it’s like going to a fancy dinner party in a forested cottage tree-house (as it a second floor loft restaurant). To compliment the unique décor, it features a very unique menu and a rotating tap list that has many specialty craft beverages. Through social media, we found that ‘The Welly’ (as it calls itself) featured on its list, Tawse Sparkling Cider – a new-to-the-market cider from Tawse Winery – that we have not seen in Ottawa yet. Very delighted to find this new cider, we of course had to make the voyage across town to try.

Tawse Sparkling Cider is a very golden yellow colour, with micro-carbonation bubbles and a bit of foam on the top. The smell isn’t over-powering but it does have strong apple aromas and some musty hints. As for taste, it actually tastes exactly like it smells. The initial taste is bursting with various apple flavours – with a marriage of sweet, musty and bitter notes coming through. There is a very crisp bite with some tingling on the tongue. The apple flavours linger long in the mouth, with the sweet notes growing and developing into the aftertaste.  Some sour notes emerge, but the sweet flavours are the long-lasting champion – with a sugar-like residue remaining on the tongue.

Tawse3-250This cider is the definition of what would come to mind when describing what a hard cider would look and taste like. It is a very traditional and classic brew; it is not necessarily unique but it is delicious. While there are very small carbonation bubbles, and a slight tingle on the tongue, we expected more sparkle like the name implied. Tawse Sparkling Cider is a very safe cider – so we do hope that this new cidery experiments with daring new flavours and blends in the future!