Rekorderlig sparkling pear cider, with passion fruit, is actually what in England we would call a perry. Perry has been popular in England for centuries and is made from specific pear cultivars - much in the same way that cider is made from apples. But it isn't cider, is it? It is perry. Regretfully, the name perry is increasingly being discarded in favour of the label pear cider in the apparent campaign to dumb down society further and save people from bothering to have to learn a new word (and, God forbid, some history and geography).
In theory it all sounded quite delicious until Tenbellies, my sister-in-law's sister, said that she had had the passion fruit Rekorderlig before and it was lovely. Thud was immediately sceptical. He has a long-running joke with Tenbellies about her questionable choice of alcoholic drinks. The brand name Lambrini - a perry which, despite its Italian sounding moniker, is actually made in Liverpool - was bandied about in jest. In all honesty, Tenbellies doesn't really drink, so with its fruity character I could see how the Rekorderlig perry, with only 4% alcohol, might appeal to the casual drinker. But it wasn't even a particularly good rendition of a perry - very low acid and the passion fruit component wasn't very passion-fruity. Oh well, I still have a passion fruit yoghurt to try.
