tusker-premium-cider

When I’m not drinking wine or whiskey, I’m drinking cider. Cider is a great chill drink with an awesome refreshing taste. Drinking out of the house in Nairobi can be quite expensive so I tend to drink cider when I’m out as wine and whiskey are ridiculously overpriced. I gave up on beer for reasons best known to my tongue; I simply couldn’t acquire the taste. Cider then was the obvious choice when beer refused. I drank Redds (and still do sometimes) for the longest time but switched to Snapp once it was launched in the market. I also tried Savanna but it was too dry for my liking.

Cider has been marketed as a women’s drink in the Kenyan market which is interesting as it’s generally not the case in other markets. In being labelled as a women’s drink, cider tends to be priced a little higher than beer in majority of bars and restaurants. Apparently, this is because anything considered a women’s thing is slapped a women’s tax as it’s assumed that men will be picking up the tab. It’s incredibly annoying as women who drink these drinks targeted towards them end up spending more money. Wine, cocktails, cider and even lighter beers tend to fall in this category and cost a little more than beer, which is assumed to be a man’s drink.

When it was announced that Tusker was launching a cider, I was excited but also a little surprised. Snapp is a sister brand so I didn’t quite understand who their target market was. Still, I counted down to the day I’d get the opportunity to try it out. It was a little difficult to find it and my friends and I looked for it for a couple of weeks at bars and supermarkets with no luck. I got the opportunity to give a try a few days ago at Jiweke Tavern on Ngong road and this is my take.

Bottle Design

At first glance, the bottle is not appealing. It looks like the Tusker bottle but instead of the brown, it’s clear with red labelling. Ciders like Snapp tend to come in twos as the quantity is 300ml which is roughly half the average beer bottle. The Tusker Cider bottle is a 500ml bottle which I like.

Pricing

Tusker Cider retails for Ksh 140 which is the same price a 300ml Snapp retails for. It is also being sold at the same price as a beer in bars and restaurants. This is probably the most attractive thing about it as it spares me the woman tax.

Taste

Okay, the first sip was delicious. It has the refreshing apple taste of a cider with less sugar, at least less than Snapp. It’s 4.5% alcohol content, which is the average. It took a while to drink and it ended up getting warm but I think that had more to do with my stage fright as I was drinking a 500ml bottle which I’m not used to.

Verdict

I wish Tusker Cider would change the design of the bottle especially as their target market as per their tweets, is millennials. I’m glad though that it shifts the idea that cider is a women’s only drink. I like it and have added it to my going out chill drink options but I’m still not sure it explodes with taste enough to make me drop my Snapp.

mwendeLifestyleReviewsbeer,cider,EABL,Kenya,Redds,Savanna,Snapp,Tusker
When I'm not drinking wine or whiskey, I’m drinking cider. Cider is a great chill drink with an awesome refreshing taste. Drinking out of the house in Nairobi can be quite expensive so I tend to drink cider when I'm out as wine and whiskey are ridiculously overpriced. I...