Autumn, "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" as the poet Keats once put it is one of my favourite seasons. Its a reel sensory season from the colours of the falling leaves to the feel of crunching them under foot and the smell of a bonfire to the bangs of the rockets Most of all I love the rich, dark flavours of autumn from treacle toffee to toffee apples and tablet (traditional sottish fudge like sweet). During autumn my tipple of choice is a thick dark porter or stout but sometimes i want something lighter and sweeter. On those occasions I go for "Brother's Toffee Apple Cider, which is particularity relevant as tomorrow is Bonfire Night.

Brother's cider comes in a range of flavours from plain apple an pear to the summery strawberry and pear and tutti fruity but its the mellow autumn flavour of the toffee apple cider that I like best.
It comes in 500 ml green glass bottles with a lovely coloured label that evokes all those wonderful autumnal colours and flavours I like the size of bottle as it is ideal for a long drink. At just under £2.0 its one of the cheaper new wave of ciders without being White Lightening cheap. I first came across it in my local corner shop last year but this year I have also found it in my local Tescos so it is fairly widely stocked.

Cracking off the metal cap I am greeted with the hissing sound o the carbonated gas being expelled. I shove my nose into the top of the bottle to be rewarded with a wonderful top note of sweet burnt toffee aroma that fades to reveal the crisp apple scent. The cider pours well with just a a touch of fizzy head before it settles and dissolves. It's a lovely translucent gold coloured drink without a hint of cloudiness. It's lightly carbonated with just enough fizz to enjoy it but not too much for the drink to become too gassy.

The cider 's fizz tingles a little on my tongue. At first I get a taste of sweet, honeyed apple juice with a hint of vanilla in the background. The flavour develops to get the deeper, darker burnt sugar taste of the toffee. Its quite pleasant, not too overpowering nor too artificial . It just gives a normal apple cider a little something extra. After the apple and toffee I feel the alcohol washing down my throat. At 4% its not too strong a cider but there's enough of kick there to remind you its an adult drink. Each bottle is 2 units of alcohol which is the sensible drinking limit for a woman whilst a man can get away with having a couple of these.

Brother's Toffee Apple Cider is a very pleasant drink that's ideal if you want something light, sweet and a little bit different. I'm not sure if I could drink more than one bottle or two at the very most, as I think it could become a bit too cloying and sickly in large quantities. Make your fireworks night go with a bang by serving some Brother's Toffee Apple Cider.