Old 'english' pub cider

I have a friend from Scotland who likes the cider he used to drink at the pubs there.

He describes it as "so good, but you gotta watch the stuff, a few glasses and your done for"

I don't know exactly what flavour profile that translates into, other than high abv. I have never been to any where even close to England or Scotland, so I have no way of knowing what it is.

For those of you who have been abroad (or live there)and tried this stuff, what exactly is it like? It's hard to recreate something you've never tried.

I've only had a few 'english style' ciders, but they have been dry and slightly bitter. If you can get your hands on a few you can probally do some tasting notes.

The taste is most likely influence by Brittish apples. They have a bunch of cider varieties and really lay it on heavy with the bitters and the sharps.
Strongbow is the most easily to find. Magners is Irish but has a similar taste to it. I recently had a Crispin that had a UK flag on it and advertised it was brewed over the pond.
If you want to replicate the taste, start looking for English apples, especially the bitters and sharps. White Labs has an "English Cider yeast" that they claim comes from an English cidery.
Cheers...

Strongbow, Magners, Bulmers, Blackthorn etc. are known as draught ciders. They aren't made with traditional cider varieties, so don't bother trying to source cider apples if this is what you're after. (Traditional English cider is called scrumpy, and you cannot find it in a Scottish pub. Believe me, I tried.). Draught ciders are typically 5% ABV and back-sweetened with apple juice or concentrate. If you do this, you will need to pasteurize your bottles. See here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/easy-stove-top-pasteurizing-pics-193295/

The only high alcohol cider you would find in Scotland is white cider, which is 7%+ ABV and generally made from less than 50% apple juice. It's mainly sold in grocery stores in 2 liter bottles, and plays the same role that malt liquor does in the US. You probably wouldn't find it in a pub, unless it was a real dive.