Dupont Reserve Cider

We try to stick mostly to local stuff here at Bad Rider, but someone recently gifted me a bottle of Dupont Reserve as thanks for helping them out with some stuff, and since I’m drinking it anyway, why not review it as well?

Domaine Dupont is a maker of French cider and calvados (which for the record is my favorite of what I think of as the “classy”or “serious” hard liquors — brandy, scotch, etc). This Dupont Reserve cider is aged in calvados casks for six months, and comes in a thick, heavy, champagne-style bottle.

It’s SUPER fizzy, with a giant head as it pours, 7.5% ABV, and a semi-cloudy light golden color. The aroma is a bit musty, and kind of dry, but not in the usual sense of sweet vs dry; it smells like a sun-baked dusty dirt yard.

The taste is bright and acidic at first, following up with smooth sweetness and a mild bitter undertone. I definitely get an impression of the calvados casks working on this cider, casting shades of age and depth over it.

Domaine Dupont seems like hardly the kind of outfit that would need any endorsing from me, but for the record I do quite like this cider. You can get your hands on some from their online store — unless you’re in the US, in which case I’d say that this is more likely to be found in your local specialized liquor store than a grocery store or corner shop.