My
last review before time to #PickCider for Thanksgiving! I wanted to
choose a cider both seasonal and food friendly, so I'm taking a
chance on the new Vermont Cider Company offering, Ingrained. This is
a barrel aged cider, and those tend to have enough mouthfeel to be
great food pairing ciders. We'll see if my suspicions are correct.
In
the past, I've reviewed two ciders by the Vermont Cider Company.
I
started with their flagship cider, Addison:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/11/cider-review-vermont-cider-cos-addison.html
And
during Winter Storm Stella, I tried Wassail:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/03/cider-review-winter-storm-stella.html
Find
out more about Vermont Cider Co. on the web:
http://www.vermontciderco.com
The official
description tells us something about how Ingrained was crafted.
Ingrained uses 100% local apples from Sunrise Orchards in Cornwall, VT. After fermentation, this cider was aged for nine months in WhistlePig Rye Whiskey barrels from Shoreham, VT for an incomparable taste experience. Ingrained has balanced botes of American oak & rye whiskey over a crisp New England apple backdrop.
Appearance: shining, bright gold, few visible bubbles
This color is intense! The shining gold is just riveting to look at. Of course its brilliant. There aren't many bubbles to see either, just shining color.
Aromas:
vanilla, barrel, booze, and ripe apple
This
smells mouthwateringly of vanilla, barrel, and rich booziness. I get
secondary notes of caramel, apple, and spice.
Sweetness/dryness:
Sweet
This
is a sweet and rich cider, redolent with dessert qualities.
Flavors
and drinking experience: sweet, complex, thick mouthfeel
This
cider has a nice balance of body, sweetness, and acidity, but in an
equilateral way. This is a pyramid with a strong base of sweetness,
lightened by medium acidity, topped of with some barrelly tannins.
The flavors are complex and roll through a bright sweetness through a
mellow mid-palate and long luxuriant finish.
Ingrained
has a thick mouthfeel and a sweetness that remind me of an ice cider,
but it has an ABV that allows it to be consumed very differently. The
Ingrained is easy pleasant drinking, perfect for an evening by the
fire with a good book or a riveting movie, something scary or with lots of action. I really enjoyed Atomic Blonde, especially with that soundtrack. Let the holiday movies wait another week.
My
food pairing recommendations would be glazed carrots, vegetarian
roast, and mashed potatoes. This is a great choice to #pickcider for
Thanksgiving.
