Nineteen.Twenty.Twenty-One.

Three Oaks Cider Company Alcoholic Apple Cider; Sweet, Dry & Original

Australian; 5.3% Alcohol Content.

$3.50 (AUD) each; Leederville Liquor Store (Leederville, WA)

Since there are three varieties of this cider, I decided to review them all in one big chunk (and I will do the same for other ciders like Strongbow, Mercury, and The Cidery).

Sweet- As the name suggests, this cider is sweet; both in the initial and after taste. Thankfully, it is not a sickly sweetness that is overpowering, but maybe more tailored to someone who is used to drinking soft drinks, rather than cider/ beer.
Rating 7.9

Dry- I have come to realize that most "dry" ciders will be the ones that I prefer because they are always crisp and refreshing; this one is a little different however. Most of the dry ciders I have sampled do not have a particularly strong apple taste, but Three Oaks Dry leaves the drinker with a wonderful flavor in his mouth, almost as if one has just bitten into an apple (an apple filled with carbonation and alcohol, but an apple nonetheless).
Rating 8.7

Original- Not a bad cider, but not as good as the dry variety; with that said, it is less sweet than the sweet which makes it more of a winner in my book. I really don't have too much to say about the original, but it is a good solid cider and I would buy it again if others were not available.
Rating 8.1

Eighteen!

Monarch Dry Premium Strength Cider

Australian; 7% Alcohol Content.

$1.99, 4 for $7.99 (AUD); CBD IGA Plus Liquor (Perth City, WA)

Two regal ciders in a row!

Do not let the low, low price of Monarch fool you, this is a great cider; when I first took a sip, I actually exclaimed, "that's pretty good!" I am sparse with superlatives, but Monarch really pleasantly surprised me. The only downfall is the high alcohol content which slightly alters the taste, but if not for that fact, this would certainly be rated higher. It has become increasingly difficult to define what exactly makes a cider good; describing why a cider is bad is much easier, but I think much of what makes a good cider so is just that initial reaction to its taste. Monarch is simply refreshing from the first drop to the last and it comes highly recommended from yours truly.

Rating 9.0

Cider 17

Three Kings Cider

Australian; 4.6% Alcohol Content.

$2.83, 6 for $16.99 (AUD); LiquorLand (Mandurah, WA)

Three Kings makes a hard apple cider, a beer, and a ginger/vodka drink and all three were relentlessly advertised for MONTHS before I could actually find one in stores. Needless to say, the anticipation created a swell of expectation within the cider community (I have nothing to back that up with except that I was excited about finding one of these cleverly and prominently marketed ciders). Once I finally found Three Kings Cider I was overjoyed, however, the experience of drinking the cider was sadly less thrilling than attempting to find it. The cider is certainly not bad, in fact it's pretty good; the taste is very similar to apple juice with a bit of alcohol thrown in, you might not even realize it is alcoholic at first. However, once again, I bought into slick advertisements and assumed that it would translate to a superior product. Three Kings is good, but will never be confused for a great cider.

Rating 8.2