Silver Swallow “Luxury Kombucha Rosé” Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Alcohol <0.5%) Silver Swallow Website $57 (for 3 x 750ml bottles)

I’ve already raved about Silver Swallow’s regular edition Kombucha a few months back, and so I was delighted to receive a bottle of their rosé edition for evaluation.

Once again the beverage’s unique texture and taste is very much down to the use of the premium organically-grown kamairicha tea sourced from a family estate on Kyushu Island, Japan, but this time around there are some spellbinding fruit complexities that really change the character of this bottling of kombucha.

With the rosé I find a bouquet of hibiscus, sun-warmed juicy strawberries, raspberries, and boysenberries, with just a touch of wildflower honey. The palate is a curious paradox of refreshing cranberry-like crispness and crunchiness coupled with a creamy and gratifyingly mouthfilling texture, that is akin to a glorious Eton Mess.

It would be hard for me to pick a favourite betwixt the two Silver Swallow bottlings, but this rosé was a perfect match with the blossoming apple trees in the back garden last week, so may have a bit of a contextual edge at this time of year.

A fantastic non-alcoholic alternative when one needs a break from all that rosé wine.

4.5 apples out of 5

(Four and a half apples out of a possible five)