Good morning Cider friends! I hope you are eating lots of apples and enjoying autumnal pleasures as we head towards Halloween. It’s still time to stay home or mask up, but that doesn’t mean we cannot enjoy the seasonal bounty. I’m imagining this week’s cider as something very seasonal! Left Foot Charley’s Cinnamon Girl seems like a cider playing dress up with cinnamon spice.
Left Foot Charley is a winery and cidery in Traverse City, Michigan. It was established there in 2004; their local focus is on processing fruit and juice from Northern Michigan for their variety cider and wine lineup.
Here is a list of my earlier reviews of Left Foot Charley’s ciders and a perry.
Fortis Maelum: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/05/cider-review-left-foot-charleys-fortis.html
Perry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/05/very-perry-may-with-left-foot-charleys.html
Henry’s Pippin (it made my top 10 for 2016): https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/12/cider-review-left-foot-charleys-henrys.html
You can visit the Left Foot Charley online right here: https://www.leftfootcharley.com/
Now for the Left Foot Charley’s official description of the Cinnamon Girl.
This is a classic combination - apples and cinnamon. The apples are harvested from two farms on the Old Mission Peninsula. Whole cinnamon sticks are then added and steeped in the cider for 4-6 weeks. Gluten Free
Alcohol 5.00%
Appearance: brilliant, warm straw, very few visible bubbles
This cider looks like lots of other ciders from Michigan and indeed from many places. It’s brilliant in clarity and the color is often called warm straw. I don’t see many bubbles.
Aromas: cinnamon, brown sugar, ripe apples
Here’s where the hijinks begin! Cinnamon Girl smells of cinnamon, ripe apples, yeast, brown sugar. The whole mixture reminds me of coffee cake. These spice smells comes across vividly. My co-taster thought the whole experience was like an apple crisp.
Sweetness/dryness: Semi- sweet
This is a semi-sweet cider. The sweetness reminds me of brown sugar and baked goods.
Flavors and drinking experience: ripe apples, lush, medium tannins, well balanced
What was very spice oriented in aroma tastes very much of apples. The Cinnamon Girl has a low to medium but present level of tannins, nice taut acidity, as well as sweetness and body. The whole experience is balanced and quite pleasant. This cider is so bubbly and fun! It went perfectly with good conversation and popcorn!
