Bar Review: KW Craft Cranberry @ Bar Hop King Street, Toronto, ON Sampled: May 2016
Bar Hop is very well known spot along the trendy King West strip in Toronto; and also so popular, they have a second location a couple of blocks away on Peter Street. Every time we have been it, it has been packed. This narrow bar is full of character and characters; with many unique, trendy dishes and a bar menu that is constantly being updated, it is guaranteed you will never have two similar visits. Being a champion of craft beverages, there is never a shortage of Ontario Craft Ciders available to consume – either on rotating taps or in made-to-share bottles. A frequently available cider at Bar Hop is KW Craft – a cider we have loved for awhile, but had not been able to try their Cranberry flavour prior.
KW Craft Cranberry is a pale pink, with minimal foam and carbonation. The smell is also mild but it is a mixture of apples and candied fruit aromas. The initial taste is quite dry and sweet – with some bitter notes and tingle that provide for a slight bite. Sweet notes remain into the aftertaste with the cranberry flavour becoming much more prominent. Tart flavours from the cranberries adds to the dryness of the cider – to the point of licking your lips clean. The cranberry flavour remains fairly static and flat – similar to drinking cranberry juice, so this cider does the fruit justice.
Overall this is a very dry and tart cider that reminds us a lot of a rose wine. It is similar in taste and dryness to their flagship original cider but with more sweetness from the featured fruit. While it is quite delicious, we feel it may not be for all beginner cider drinkers. KW Craft is very creative company that puts a lot of heart and soul into cider creations, and we can’t try their newest cider release, KW Craft Strawberry, in the hopefully near future.
