(but really, strongbow isn't THAT bad, just considered a fairly tame/comercial cider really)
Well, I was a beer snob of sorts prior to discovering cider so I get the frustration. Strongbow was just the first one I had so there's some weird attachment. One of my favorites was (this will probably be an affront to you as well lol) a basque cider. Tasted like hay and vinegar but for some reason I loved it. Bishop Cider Co has something they called scrumpy but a lot of more experienced cider enthusiasts said it wasn't really. I liked it a lot tho.
I make mine bone dry and still, tweak the tannins and acidity but they're still lacking that special mmph that I really want.
Oh, I drank loads of strongbow as a teen, but once I grew up and could actually get my own drinks I moved on (or we kept drinking the stuff we made ourselves)
A proper scrumpy can be great, but very strong. Really, drink what you like and enjoy and fuck the snobs say. I mean, I love the fruity ciders and an enthusiast would probably disown you for that. ---
