Catching the rosé cider buzz, with a tasting of our favorites

Everything is coming up rosé lately, from slushies to sorbet, spirits to cocktails (rosé margaritas anyone?), so it seems natural that the fast-growing hard cider industry would grab on to the trend. Greg Hall, of the Michigan-based artisan maker Virtue Cider, is among them.

“We said to ourselves: ‘We like beer, we like wine, we like cider, we like it all. We can do this. Let’s make a rosé cider,’ ” said Hall, the founder.

Easy to drink, pair-able with picnics and, like, totally Instagram-able, rosé ciders are popping up everywhere.

There are no rules in this new category of cider experimentation. That pretty pink hue can come from apple skins, the introduction of other fruits or botanicals, or artificial color. And the addition of sweeteners, natural and otherwise, is common.

We tasted a bunch of the rosé ciders we found on the market to weed out the laggards — which can taste like bubblegum soda or cough syrup at their worst. Here are our five favorites (in alphabetical order):

Blake’s ferments this limited-edition cider with Santa Rosa plum skins for a pretty pale color. It is wine-y on the nose and pleasantly sour and ferment-y. Kombucha drinkers take notice. Despite the obnoxious name, this large-format bottle contains an elegant fruity cider with a bright, true pink color; it’s fermented with blueberries. The wine drinkers on our panel applaud its resemblance to a sophisticated sparkling rosé. The makers of this widely available, salmon-colored quaffer claim to be “inspired by the traditional Provence style of rosé.” Truth be told, it’s delicious — with subtle floral notes and a gentle fruity sweetness from the addition of pear cider.

This eyecatching (and sweat-free) can contains a pleasingly tart and pleasantly fizzy cider. Grape skin extracts provide the natural pale peach tone.

Rose gold in color, this cider comes in a pretty, feminine can and is light, dry and easy to drink. Careful, though, its 6.7 percent alcohol is one of the highest.