Rosé Cider Is The Pretty Pink Thing To Drink This Summer

You've had rosé wine in the summer, you've had rosé in the winter. You've had rosé frozen, rosé cocktails, rosé made by celebrities, and even rosé marshmallows and rosé ice cream. Heck, you've even had rosé at Taco Bell. But one way you have yet to have this perfectly millennial pink drink? Cider. But now, major cider makers such as Strongbow, Angry Orchard, Wölffer, and Crispin all have rosé varietals, and it's the thing to have in your glass this summer.

Angry Orchard and Strongbow each launched its rosé cider back in February with massive PR splashes while Crispin launched its rosé cider December 2017. (Wölffer, meanwhile, has been in the rosé and rosé cider game for quite some time.) Clearly, with all these brand launches occurring around the same time, cider makers wanted to make summer 2018 the year of rosé cider like summer 2017 was all about wine and frosé.

"I love rosé wine, but I'm excited for drinkers to move on over to cider and try something new this spring with our Angry Orchard Rosé," Ryan Burk, head cider maker of Angry Orchard, said in a statement upon the beverage's release.

Unlike other trend-chasing releases, rosé cider fills a much-needed gap in the market. It's the perfect drink for someone who doesn't care for wine or beer yet wants something Instagram-worthy and easily drinkable.

We've tried two of these four rosés. Angry Orchard's rosé is sweet and floral with a strong flavor of apple. Perhaps the perfume-like flavor of this particular cider comes from the rare French red-fleshed apples known as Amour Rouge that are used in Angry Orchard's seven-apple cider blend.

Strongbow, on the other hand, is a bit drier than Angry Orchard, and this is reflected in its lighter color. While this cider is not close to being distinguished as dry, it has a tartness and mouthfeel that more closely reflects the wine varietal that inspired its creation. Like rosé wine, there seems to be a rosé cider out there for every palate. So keep your eyes peeled for this perfectly pink cider, it's certainly one of our favorite ways to enjoy rosé without drinking wine.

Beverage samples for review were provided by their producers at no cost to the writer.