Thatchers Zero

It must be said, first, that this zero alcohol cider from one of the UK’s biggest cider-makers has been reviewed more positively on other sites and won a best in show at Imbibe’s No&Low Taste Awards. But for us, at least, it didn’t tingle the taste buds. Popping the cap, the nose seemed to share as much with vintage zinc kitchen pans as apples, and the pour was frothy and big bubbled, with a head that instantly crackled and deflated to flat, still and uninviting. A tentative first sip again caught hints of metal, immediately followed by a watery rush of sweet pressed apple with little depth of flavour, or finish, and no amount of sluicing it around the mouth did much to reveal any greater complexity. (Nor, incidentally, did opening and sampling another two bottles just to be sure we hadn’t caught a bad one – though, admittedly it did become a fraction more agreeable.) All in all, while it was perfectly drinkable, Thatcher’s Zero felt to us unsophisticated and under-loved in its design and manufacture, an almost industrial-tasting cider that’s unlikely to find a place in our fridge so long as there are better no/low choices out there.