Review: Fruté fruit cider

Category: Reviews  |  Post by: Andrea Wong
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Frute cider :: So D'lish. New Zealand's food blog website.

I can tell that it's starting to cool down when I have to put on a cardy. I always feel a little bit sad at the end of summer because it's the end of another season of stone fruit, berries, bbqs and the beach. And while I like the changing of the seasons, I'm going to enjoy the few remaining warm days while I still can.

When a pack of Fruté was delivered to my door the other day, I knew that I would have to wait for a warm, sunny day to try it.

I hadn't seen Fruté before but it sounded like my kind of drink: nice and fruity, with a little alcohol kick. Fruté is a fruit cider (5% alcohol) and is made from apples and either berries or orange and vanilla. Unlike normal apple cider, Fruté is thick like real fruit juice. 

I was happy to discover that Fruté is made in Nelson, at McCashin's Brewery (formerly of Mac's Beer fame). I love seeing New Zealanders producing great stuff! McCashin's have teamed up with fellow locals, Sujon to provide the berries for Fruté Berry. Fruté contains 20% real fruit and does not contain any added sugar or preservatives. It ticks a lot of boxes for me!

Out of the orange and vanilla, and berry flavours, I enjoyed the berry the most. I'm a bit of a berry fiend however, so really it was no surprise. The berry Fruté was thick and tasted of real berries with the slight sparkle of cider. The orange and vanilla while nice, to me didn't taste as fresh.

Frute and the bee :: So D'lish. New Zealand's food blog websiteWhile photographing Fruté, I noticed a wee bee coming in to investigate the alluring-looking drink. Ok, so it turned out to be a wasp, but I still took the photos as it looked quite sweet.

I would have Fruté at a bbq or brunch, as an alternative to beer or wine. The berry flavour would be great with a chicken salad, or you could even incorporate it in the salad dressing. The orange and vanilla would go well with something like a light Thai lunch.

Serve cold, with lots of ice.

Fruté is currently available in bars nationwide. Fruté packs containing four 330ml bottles, can be found in bottle stores nation-wide and supermarkets throughout the South Island, Wellington and Auckland. RRP $14.99-$17.99

Thanks to Fruté for supplying samples for reviewing purposes.

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  • 17/09/2010 3:39 p.m.
    Kelly

    They stock it at Newtown New World in Wellington! And they serve it at that new bar The Apartment on Blair Street
  • 30/08/2010 5:47 p.m.
    Maria

    Who sells this in Wellington? Got some at both Food festivals that we've had this year but haven't seen it in supermarkets, help!
  • 10/08/2010 7:20 a.m.
    *** Andrea Wong ***

    @Niki - I'm sorry to hear that your Pak n Save have stopped stocking Frute! I'll see if I can find out where you can get it nearby.
  • 09/08/2010 7:57 p.m.
    niki trotter

    I have been buying & enjoying frute cider for several months until a few weeks ago when it disappeared off the shelves of our local supermarket Pak n Save Kapiti. I've been told it is due to a change in distributor but I find it very annoying & surely it can't be good for business or that hard to get this product onto the supermarket shelves.Please help!!! It's been several weeks now
  • 28/04/2010 10:07 p.m.
    Steven

    I like your review, very detailed and informative. It's a bit like the ones on www.kiwireviews.co.nz/supplier/150 where they also mention some of the other great ciders from McCashins.
  • 05/04/2010 11:26 a.m.
    Amy

    This looks really yummy, can't wait to try