I'm not much of a cider drinker. You won't find me sat in a pub with a pint of Scrumpy. However, you may find me cradling a bottle of fruit cider, which I've developed a love for over the last year or so. It began with Strawberry and Lime Kopparberg - a drink which is fruity and delicious. I then discovered Strawberry and Lime Rekorderlig on an outing to a local bar and this proved to be even more sublime than Kopparberg. This is quite an achievement as I consider both drinks to be rather divine...

Rekorderlig comes in a brown bottle with a rather simple label and an image of some strawberries and a lime. This minimalist and classic design makes you feel like you are drinking a somewhat high class beverage. It looks like a premium cider and, my god, it tastes like a premium cider...

*~A DELIGHT TO THE TASTEBUDS~*

When pouring this pink-coloured drink out into a glass full of ice you are met with an alluringly sweet aroma. The drink itself tastes delightful. It has the sweet taste of strawberries which is balanced out by a hint of lime. It is a crisp and refreshing drink which quenches your thirst. I enjoy it more than Kopparberg as it is sweeter, more fruity and smoother to drink. In a lot of ways it tastes less like alcohol than Kopparberg which is probably why I enjoy it so much. I am the type of person who enjoys the buzz and kick which alcohol provides but I prefer the taste to be masked by oodles of fruits and sweet flavours. In my first year of university this largely involved sucking alcopops through a straw like the teenager I was. I am glad to say that my taste has grown to be a lot more mature and refined since.
As a university graduate my drink of choice is Rekorderlig. With 4% of alcohol it is not too boozy and it is very easy to drink.
The one thing that lets the product down is the fact that the label on the back does not give you any information on the ingredients and calorific content of the cider. This information I gathered from another source. The ingredients are as follows:

Carbonated spring water, pear and apple wine, berry flavors and caramel. Acids: citric acid and sodium citrate. Preservatives: E202 and E220 (contains sulphites).
The ingredients suggest it is not really cider and is more of a fruity wine than anything else. I'm not really complaining about this as I enjoy it whether it is considered cider or not. However, this fruity 'wine' packs in 63 calories per 100ml. That's 315 calories per 500ml bottle! Like most alcoholic drinks, it is an indulgence and all worries about waistlines should be cast aside...

*~TOO SICKLY SWEET FOR SOME?~*

I don't know anyone who has tried it who didn't enjoy it. My boyfriend and my housemates adore this drink and we bought some for our house Christmas dinner, taking care to keep count of how many bottles we had each. It is a light drink and this makes it the perfect accompaniment to a meal.
However, if you prefer a traditional rustic cider or don't enjoy sweet drinks you may not be a fan of Rekorderlig. I reckon that this drink could be a bit too sickly for some and not enough like your normal pint of cider for others.

Certainly, I love the drink and plan to buy more for Christmas Day with the family. The drink is also nice to have when unwinding after a hard day at work. However, after a number of hard days at work, I've had to hold back on getting them too often as they cost just over £2 per bottle at Tesco and Asda which is rather pricey in comparison to other bottled beverages. On the other hand, the drink can sometimes be found on special offer and I understand you can get three for £5 at the moment at the two aforementioned supermarkets.
In addition to this, if you get bored of this particular flavour there are other flavours to chose from including Apple, Pear, Wild Berry, Apple and Blackcurrant and Winter Cider. The Wild Berry and Apple and Blackcurrant are almost as delicious as the Strawberry and definitely worth a try. I just wish I could find a shop which stocks the Winter Cider. With its vanilla and cinnamon this aught to be the perfect drink for the holiday period but I can't find it anywhere. I'll just have to stick to the Strawberry and Lime variety for now.

I highly recommend this drink, particularly over the festive period. I cannot get enough of it. Many memorable things have come into being because of the Swedes - Ikea meatballs, Daim bars, Lindqvist's 'Let the Right One In' and male fantasies about that blonde one from Abba (so my boyfriend tells me)...Rekorderlig just happens to be one of those.

*~Thank you for reading my review :-) ~*

*~Also published on Ciao under username Renza - December 2011~*