Cider Revew: Nine Pin Ciderworks' Pink Lemonade

My life is happily rather upside down at the moment! There are four little black kittens just bouncing and stalking and napping around my office. We’re short-term fostering them, and it’s the first time I’ve ever helped foster little kittens. I’ve certainly visited litters to help socialize them and raised cats of my own, but this is an entirely new situation. They’ve been here less than a day, but my heart is wrapped up in them so completely. So it seems that my current cider companions will not raise a glass with me, as they are all underage!

That’s just as well, as I’m not sure I want to share my Nine Pin Ciderworks’ Pink Lemonade. Woody bought this a few weeks ago, but I’ve found myself reaching for it on warm Summer evenings. It’s been too long since any Nine Pin has been featured on the blog! Here are all of my earlier Nine Pin Ciderworks reviews. More background info on this Albany, New York based cider can be found in these. 

House of Dabinett: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/04/cider-review-portland-cider-companys.html

Cucumber Lime Light Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/08/cider-reviews-ninepin-light-cider.html

Gathering of the Farm Cideries (including the Cascara cider): https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/gathering-of-new-york-farm-cideries.html

Peach Tea: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/06/pickcider-review-nine-pin-ciderworks.html

Blueberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/08/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-blueberry.html

Ginger: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/10/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-ginger.html

Signature cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html

Here’s how to find Nine Pin Ciderworks online: http://www.ninepincider.com.

I’ll share how the folks at Nine Pin describe the Pink Lemonade. 

When life gives you New York apples, make Pink Lemonade! Nine Pin’s Pink Lemonade cider is made from 100% New York apples then infused with lemons and Citra hops. This refreshing cider is blended with juice from Samascott Orchard’s Red Ace beet crop to create that signature pink color. 6.2% ABV. 

Appearance: hazy, warm peach, some visible bubbles

Based on the name of the cider and the mention of using beets for color, I did expect bolder pink. Instead we have something lovely, soft, and natural. It looks more like peach nectar to me than pink lemonade with that warm hue and fuzzy haze. Even with the haze, I can see plenty of still bubbles that collected on the side of the glass. So inviting!

Aromas: lemons and lemonade, hops, 

The Pink Lemonade cider smells vividly of citric acid. Its a gorgeous bright neon sign blinking “Lemonade!” by way of lemon. Secondarily I get notes of hops, particularly the grapefruit face of hops. It smells zingy almost prickly. The aromas are appealing and balanced, but I would love to get more apple aroma.

Sweetness/Dryness: Semi-dry

The Pink Lemonade is neither austere nor notably sweet. It’s tart in a distinctly enjoyable way which leads me to believe there is some sweetness to balance that out. 

Flavors and drinking experience: lemony, hops, warming, clean ferment

Nine Pin has made a friendly and easy-drinking summer beverage with the Pink Lemonade. It’s tasty with a medium intensity of sparkle and a full body. It’s extremely lemony, and the hops persist but they meld with the lemon seamlessly.

It’s refreshing but warming all at once. I appreciate the clean fermentation to be expected of Nine Pin. My only hope if there are future iterations would be for more apple-forward aroma and flavor profile. Indeed this feels like a summer drink that’s simply a hopped lemonade rather than a cider made with hops and lemon. Nonetheless, it’s tremendously enjoyable! I’ll happy relish these on hot nights or thunderstorm afternoons, with kittens underfoot. 

Cider Review: Portland Cider Company's Peach Berry and Nine Pin Ciderworks House of Dabinett

Good morning, cider friends! I hope you are doing okay today. It’s been a rough week, but I’m very excited about an event coming up soon! Since none of us are going out on Thursday night, I invite you to join me with the fine folks at Cider Culture magazine for a little informal Cider School!

I’ll be taking people through a short program about tasting called, “Tasting Cider Seriously.”

Here’s a link to the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/674645873363402/

The only thing you need to bring is a cider to taste and a piece of white paper. Join us on Thursday evening at 6pm Eastern!

Now, I'm super excited to share my experience with Portland Cider Co.'s Peach Berry.

I enjoy lots of ciders from Portland Cider Co. They often send me samples for review, and that's how I was able to access the Peach Berry!

Kinda Dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/05/cider-review-portland-cider-company.html

Pineapple: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/cider-review-portland-cider-company.html

Cranberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/03/cider-review-seed-stone-cidery-heritage.html

Pumpkin Spice: 
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/10/cider-review-portland-cider-co-pumpkin.html

Pineapple Rose: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/07/cider-reviews-portland-cider-cos.html

Today, I wanted something fruity and springy so I’m tasting Portland Cider Co.’s Peach Berry.

Here’s the cider’s official description, “Bold, juicy Oregon peaches play with a blend of tart Northwest grown berries: raspberry, blackberry & blueberry. A cider full of sunshine to drink on those grey Portland days. 5.2% ABV.”

Appearance: brilliant, carmine, few bubbles

This cider shocked me as soon as I saw it. This isn’t a rose, it’s a deep carmine red. It’s almost too dark to detect the Peach Berry’s clarity, but with good light, I can see that it’s brilliant. There aren’t a lot of visible bubbles. It looks almost like a light bodied red wine in the glass.

Aromas: peach, blackberry, apple, strawberry

The Peach Berry does smell like peaches and a bit like berries. Specifically, I get notes of blackberries and strawberries. The aromas are so fruity. I am definitely anticipating a sweet cider. I get some hints of apple, but it’s more integrated into the overall experience rather than standing out distinctively.

Sweetness/Dryness: Sweet

As I imagined, the Peach Berry is a sweet cider.

Flavors and drinking experience: low tannins, medium acid, very fruity

Indeed, this is a sweet and fruity cider! The notes that take center stage are raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, and peach. One of the interesting qualities for the Peach Berry is that some berry tannins do show through, though it’s a low tannin cider. I’d call it medium acidity with very peachy tartness, but my co-taster though it was high acidity. Your results may vary there.

The overall impression I get from the Peach Berry is that of clean fresh fruit.The cider has nicely strong bubbles.It’s a balanced drink from start to finish.

I enjoyed mine with pasta prima vera, and I’d totally recommend that pairing!

Next up, I'm excited to share notes on Nine Pin Ciderworks' House of Dabinett!

This was a purchase I made recently now that Nine Pin can ship cider! This is an Albany, New York cidery and a regional favorite of mine. I have several previous Nine Pin Reviews

Cucumber Lime Light Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/08/cider-reviews-ninepin-light-cider.html

Gathering of the Farm Cideries (including the Cascara cider): https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/gathering-of-new-york-farm-cideries.html

Peach Tea: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/06/pickcider-review-nine-pin-ciderworks.html

Blueberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/08/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-blueberry.html

Ginger: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/10/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-ginger.html

Signature cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html

I encourage you to visit Nine Pin Ciderworks online to learn more and order about the ciders, now shipping to most states: http://www.ninepincider.com

I asked Alejandro about this cider, and he gave me a little of it’s backstory. Here’s what he had to say. “The House of Dabinett was a by chance made cider that stemmed from a trip in a box truck to Wayne County this fall.  First stop was to see Jake Lagoner at Lagoner farms where we picked up the bins of Smokehouse apples.  The second was meeting Dave DeFischer from DeFischer fruit farms to get the bin of Dabinetts.  When we got back to Albany, we pressed the two varieties together, fermented it nice and slow and the result was the House of Dabinett.  We think these two apples make a great "double variety" cider.” 

Appearance: aged vellum, hazy, bubbly

This cider looked rustic and hazy once poured. The color reminds me of aged maps and antique vellum or parchment. It’s obviously going to be a sparkling cider based on the bubbles I can see. 

Aromas: melon, white flowers, overripe apples

The House of Dabinett smells simply mouthwatering! I am suddenly even more excited to taste it. The cider smells like melon, overripe apples and white flowers. It’s luscious!There are tropical notes and I don’t know whether I should expect sweetness in this cider based on how fruity it smells or if most of that expression will be aromatic.

Dryness/sweetness: Off-dry

This off-dry cider is a wonderful resting place between the austerity of a completely dry cider and the overflowing fruity lushness that a sweeter version would have created. This would be an absolutely crowd pleaser!

Flavors and drinking experience: tannic, funky, high acid, citrus

Everyone who reads this blog knows that I love an off-dry tannic cider, and I’m happy to say that the House of Dabinett is exactly that. It’s a lil’ bit funky with medium high acidity. It actually reminds me of some British ciders that I love. It’s well balanced and quite good.

I appreciate the tropical notes but the House of Dabinett also this cider brings forth flavors that remind me of oranges and leather. I enjoyed this cider so much! I had one of my four pack with spicy popcorn, another with an excellent veggie burger, and I can’t wait to create two more pairings with my last two. 

Be good to yourselves out there, cider friends. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you online Thursday evening!

Gathering of the New York Farm Cideries: Nine Pin Ciderworks, Treasury Cider, Awestruck Cider, and Descendant Cider Co.

This past Saturday, I bundled some friends who happen to be fellow cider nerds into the car to make the trek up to Albany for the Fourth Annual Gathering of the Farm Cideries. For a little background, this is a New York even that Nine Pin hosts yearly to celebrate the birthday of their own business, but also to celebrate a whole generation of young NY cideries that operate under New York's Farm Cidery license. Nine Pin was the first to open as an official NY Farm Cidery, so it makes all the sense in the world that they gather everyone to Albany. I love that these cider companies are forming a community and sharing their huge range of beverages with the public together. This is crucial cider education!

Each year, more cideries work under this license and are thus eligible to take part. This year around 17 cider companies participated by setting up a table, sampling, introducing and selling their ciders under one warehouse roof. That's one of the things I love about the gathering. Some of these operations are either quite young or quite small, and many self distribute to a very limited local area. This may be the only chance many people have to buy anything from Roger's Cideryard(https://www.facebook.com/RogersCideryard/), and it was assuredly my first tasting with Ithaca's newest cider producer: New York Cider Co. (https://www.facebook.com/NewYorkCiderCompany/).

When we arrived, about 20 minutes after doors were due to open, there was already a line stretching around the corner from the cidery's entrance. One of the things to note about Ninepin is their extensive and agile menu of limited release ciders. Several of these are only ever available in their tap room and only around for a short time. These run the gamut from this year's Ashmead's Kernel single-varietal to the wildly inventive such as their Blueberry Peach Cobbler. And I think their adventurousness has rubbed off on Albany's cider scene more generally, hence the folks waiting for doors to open on Saturday.

Once inside I tasted and chatted and listened to what other folks were saying about the sold-out event.

I didn't get to try everything; I never manage to, but I did find several things to take home. But here are four highlights of what I did get to try.

Nine Pin Ciderworks,

http://www.ninepincider.com

Cascara Nectar

This is a soon to be officially released cider and it was astounding! Cascara is the berry of the coffee plant, but this cider struck me as tart and spicy more than anything else. This cider is the result of a collaboration between Nine Pin and Joe Bean Coffee Roasters. It uses Cascara Coffee Cherry Tea and the hulks of Bolivian Cascara fermented with New York State Apples. I bought a four pack of cans to take home because this spicy, fruity, high acid cider exhibits what I love about experimental ciders. The apple flavor remains present but does something new with these additional flavors.

Here's a link to Joe Bean and Nine Pin's Release party coming up soon on February 24th: https://www.facebook.com/events/147819415930296/

Treasury Cider

http://www.treasurycider.com/

Burr Knot

The official description reads:

A careful mix of apples from our family orchard, Fishkill Farms, was selected to make the hard cider in this bottle. Heirloom varieties, proper harvest timing, ecological farming, and traditional wine-making methods all come together in our cider. Our name is an homage to the farm's founder Henry Morenthau Jr., who served as Secretary of the Treasury under FDR. It also celebrates the revival of hard cider in America.

Other descriptors include, “Dry and unfiltered / orchard cider / traditional method” and a list of apples, “Hyslop crab / Granny Smith / Pink Lady / Old-Growth Golden Delicious / Jonamac”

Wow! Just wow! I've had other ciders by this maker, but nothing in the past year. They've really matured and this cider shows their best qualities. Yes, I'm fond of a cider with crab apples, but the maker has to do know what to do with them. Treasury Cider certainly does!

Awestruck Cider

http://www.awestruckciders.com/

Lavender Hopped

I love their introduction to this cider.

Think of lavender and you imagine rows of sun-kissed purple, with a gentle scent of Mediterranean summer evenings. Our Lavender Hops is created to capture the same sensation of warm, fragrant summertime. We infuse our traditional hard cider with a secret blend of hops and sweet lavender. This adds a mildly bitter complexity which, together with the citrus and floral undertones, combines to produce a unique flavour. Like a summer evening, Lavender Hops is mellow - perfect for cider and beer drinkers alike

This one sold out entirely at the event! I loved it and one of my cider compatriots did too. The lavender tastes herbal without being soapy. The cider has zesty high acid that always goes well with hops. Its a balanced and full bodied cider. Other fruit notes were tropical fruit and berries.

Descendant Cider Co.

http://www.descendantcider.com/

Dry

The limited release Descendant Dry is introduced like this by the cidery,

DESCENDANT DRY (6.9%) - 2016 Harvest availableDry" has strong ripe apple aromas and bright acidity balanced with bittersweet tannin. It is medium body and bone dry. It also has bright appearance as a result of the aging process.

What I like about this cider is both its body and its balance. It has some zesty acidity, mild astringence, and soft tannins. It also had some floral and spicy characteristics that really add to its complexity. Yum! I also picked up a few of their other ciders for future tasting.

Overall, it was a wonderful day. Yes, there were cider donuts! Nine Pin Ciderworks really knows how to host this event well. They managed a big crowd and avoided many of the common pitfalls to such events. I had a fantastic time and only wish I could visit these cider folks more often.

#PickCider Review: Nine Pin Ciderworks Peach Tea

Last post before the 4th of July! I hope you have you plans made for how to celebrate the most picnic, cookout, fun, food, and firework's holiday in America's calendar year. I hope you've thought about how you'll #pickcider as part of this awesome occasion. Here's one last review of a new release seasonal cider that's just tailor made for summer parties. 

One of the coolest things about Nine Pin is their amazing range of specialty and seasonal ciders. Looking at the website just now, I counted 17 available ciders. That's impressive, and even more so once I tasted several of these and found out how good they are. 

You can read the whole list and find out much more here at their site:

http://www.ninepincider.com

I couldn't finish up my series of #PickCider reviews without Nine Pin Ciderworks' summer seaonsal release: Peach Tea. They were kind enough to share some samples with me just in time!

Here are my previous reviews of Nine Pin Ciders:

I first reviewed their Signature Blend: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html

Ginger: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/10/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-ginger.html

Blueberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/08/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-blueberry.html

Though not a review, Nine Pine Ciderworks is part of my cider event calendar every winter, and this is the writeup when they launched the annual Gathering of the Farm Cideries, which is an amazing event every year in Albany: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/02/my-cider-event-calendar-cider-and-beer.html

Official description: 

Peach Tea is Nine Pin’s take on a classic summer drink. This cider, crafted from a farmhouse blend of New York apples from Kinderhook, N.Y.-based Samascott Orchards, is cold-infused with a custom peach tea blend from Short and Stout. The infusion of these ingredients creates a bright, refreshingly tart, and delicious peach cider. Peach Tea pairs well with sunsets and warm summer nights.

I got some amazing pairing recommendations from Alejandro for this cider including tire swings and puppies. It was charming, and I'm curious to see if I'll agree. The ABV is a middle of the road 6.2%.

Appearance: transparent, very few visible bubbles, warm apricot color

One of my co-tasters said that the cider's appearance reminded her of the warm orange tones of peaches, and I think that's completely fair. I found it reminiscent of dried apricots.

Aromas: Peach! More peach!

This smells completely like peaches and unfermented peach juice. I can envision the drips of peach juice running down my chin when I smell this. Its almost mind boggling.

Sweetness/dryness: Sweet

This is a sweet and juicy cider.

Flavors and drinking experience: peach, hints of tea, bit of creaminess

Rather like the aromas, I was surprised by how very juicy the Peach Tea is! The cider tastes a tiny bit creamy as well. To be more specific, its a sweet sort of juicy- not very tea like, to me One out of three tasters, one could pick it up clearly, and guided the rest of us to noticing a bit of tea. Maybe the tannins mid palate were from the tea, but I found my impresions of tea growing as the taste matured. It comes out mostly on the finish - as a sustained note.

Something else, we all noticed about the Peach Tea cider is that the drinking exeperience is light and not very boozy to the tastebuds. Somehow the balance sweet and fruity with high acid stayed very friendly. The cider is easy drinking and not punishing or sharp at any moment of the taste journey. Maybe it is as cider for warm nights and cuddling puppies.

For us it was an evening on the porch with chevre and strawberry short cake and good conversation. There are endless ways to #pickcider but it is always best with good company.

Cider Review: Nine Pin Cider Blueberry

I know that summer is on its way out: grass has gone to seed, spiders are going web-crazy, and insects will my mellow evening with songs. Or, more realistically, because all of the college students have come back. This is nature's reminder for me to drink fruity summery ciders while I can. These go so well with hanging out on my screen porch and eating all of the summer vegetables.

Hence, Nine Pin Ciderworks Blueberry. Which I feel super excited about right now while blueberries are actually in season in upstate New York.

You can read all about Nine Pin Ciderworks in Albany, New York on their Facebook page. If you live in the area, I'd especially recommend checking it out because Ninepin keeps a busy social calendar and their events are super fun.
https://www.facebook.com/ninepincider

I've reviewed a few Nine Pin Ciderworks Ciders before.

My first taste of Nine Pin Cider, the Signature Blend:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html

Here's my review of their very tasty Ginger: 
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/10/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-ginger.html

But today is all about Nine Pin Ciderworks Blueberry!
Here's how Ninepin introduces it, "This is a blend of apples co-fermented with blueberries from Indian Ladder Farms. It has a dry, complex, and integrated flavor and is rose in color" This cider comes in with a nice round 6.0% ABV.

Appearance: brilliant, bubbly, blush

What a fun color! This cider looks a blushing pink or even delicately  lilac. It's brilliant such that we have no trouble seeing hundreds of very active bubbles in the glass.

Aromas: Very little aroma, dust and mineral, no apple

Even when poured into one of my mini-widemouth jars, I don't get a lot of scent from this cider. What I do smell reminds me of earth and dust and wet limestone more than fruit. Hrm. Interesting. Perhaps this will fall more to the tart and dry side of the spectrum.

Sweetness to Dryness: Semi-Sweet

Nope, I wasn't getting all in the smell that comes across in the drink.  This is a very melded fruity sweetness and decidedly a semi-sweet.

Flavors and drinking experience: tart, green apples, blueberry, clean

I can taste just the tiniest bitterness but tons of tart malic and citric acid. It creates a very pleasant salivary reaction. Rather like very tart and nearly sour green grapes. I'm loving the strong carbonation, which is predictable for me. Love those bubbles. In this semi-sweet cider, the blueberry fully melds with apple. I can totally see the co-fermentation described in Ninepin's description. Even if I hadn't read it, I would have guessed that the blueberries were added early in fermentation. Not a long or complex finish but brilliantly clean from start through finish.

I had this cider with homemade fisherman's pie and the pairing was incredible! Of course this acidity of this cider goes with a rich pie crust, creamy liquid, tender fish, and piles of vegetables.  I'll also recommend this as cider in sips. Big gulps don't show off its best characteristics. 

Ninepin Cider makes a number of limited runs with different styles and additions, and I consistently enjoy them. So, if you like cider adventures, check out these seasonals!

Cider Review: Nine Pin Cider Works' Ginger

Pumpkin and pumpkin spice are frequently touted as the flavors of fall, followed closely by all things apple. But I'd like to propose another contender, ginger. Especially when paired with apple, as in this cider by Nine Pin Cider Works, the balance of spice, heat, fruit, and zing is extremely autumnal. The air feels crisp; the chilly nights inspire warm fires indoors or out, and everything is bright for one last hurrah before the winter. Ginger suits this perfectly. But can bright spicy ginger combine well with hard cider? (My only previous review of a ginger cider combination can be investigated here: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/07/cider-review-millstone-cellars-gingeroot.html)

This question informs my review of the new ginger cider by Albany's youngest cidery, Nine Pin Cider Works.

You can check out all of their new cider styles and their full schedule of cider happenings on their website: http://www.ninepincider.com/

It looks like they've really jumped in the cider scene enthusiastically since their relatively recent opening.  Their only previous appearance in this blog comes from my review of their first cider, called their Signature Blend: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html
Alejandro del Peral, Nine Pin's cider maker has expanded their lineup quickly and now Nine Pin offers the Ginger, Belgian, and Hunny Pear as well.

Here's what Nine Pin says about their ginger cider, "Ginger – A spicy yet balanced cider created from a blend of dessert apples from Samascott Orchards and infused with ginger and orange peel."

I love that Ninepin is going for something spicy and also adding the orange notes. I'm so curious to taste how it will all work together.

Appearance: pale, brilliant

Somehow this color reminds me of a certain shade of sunrise when rose and gold combine with pale delicacy. Poetics of color aside, this is a beautiful brilliant cider without a hint of haze. 

Aromas: fresh apple, some ginger, spices

When I lift my glass, I can immediately smell apple. It is a fresh clean apple scent rather than something more ripe or warm. In the background, ginger and spice both appear but remain very separate from the apple.

Sweetness: Semi-dry

Though it is a bit more difficult to assess the sweetness or dryness of a flavored cider, at least for me, this one is doubtlessly a semi-dry. It has fruit and body as well as spice but these things always function in balance. The mouthfeel and finish contribute to the cider's functioning as a semi-dry. This makes it pleasantly approachable and enjoyable for folks with a wide array of preferences.

Flavors and drinking experience: genuine ginger flavor coordinated with orange zestiness

Wow! This cider has a very real ginger taste. It drinks just a touch spicy while staying nicely balanced. The ginger does not dominate the cider completely but it is a primary aspect of this cider. Rather than tasting like a flavored cider it drinks like apple, orange, and spicy ginger altogether. I am impressed by how tremendously well these flavors combine.

The Ginger offers a good level of carbonation for me, which means it is strongly sparkling. I enjoyed this cider before reading any descriptions or notes, but once I read about the infusion of orange peel it made all the sense in the world.

For reasons of practicality, I had this with a couple of non traditional pairings because my fridge was so filled with party leftovers. I could not in good conscious cook something new, so I asked the Ninepin Ginger to work with what I had. That means I tried it with tabbouleh salad, tortilla soup, and white chocolate tequila-soaked jalapenos. Trust me it worked.
 

Cider Review: Nine Pin Cider Works' Nine Pin Signature Blend

Nine Pin Cider Works has a neat-sounding slogan, "Be Revolutionary. Consider the apple." I'm not 100% sure that they connect those two bold phrases in the rest of their promotional copy, but they still have some punch. Tonight, I'm trying the Signature Blend and introducing the Nine Pin Cider Works brand a bit. 

Their look is fantastic. I love the shapes and fonts and colors on the label. The bold green and generous use of brass foil is just fresh and lovely. I'm somewhat less convinced by their somewhat scattered brand identity that references Rip Van Winkle, The Revolutionary War, local appeal, and ninepin bowling. I don't think they need the complex narrative, but that's just me.

This is the most direct part of what the website says about the company in general. I'm skipping the Rip Van Winkle story bit:

Like any revolution, Nine Pin Cider was many years in the making. In 1997, Alejandro’s father is hired to paint a 32 foot rose on the brick wall side of 925 Broadway. He raises his family on a small Hudson Valley farm, encouraging a love of nature, adventure and fresh food. In 2010, Alejandro wanders into a store and is asked to sample a local hard cider. He quickly develops a passion for the drink and became an apprentice. By 2013, Alejandro has perfected his own cider blend, winning a gold medal at the Great Lakes International Cider & Perry Competition.

A gold from GLINTCAP is nothing to sneeze at. So let's find out a bit more about the Signature Blend. The apples are all locally sourced from Samascot Orchards. That's a cool bit of provenance. Nine Pin describes this cider, "It [is] an off dry sparkling cider with a crisp, bold, and refreshing taste." That doesn't tell me much. 6.7% ABV which is pretty typical for a commercially available craft cider. 

The best way for me to investigate more at this point will be to simply drink and report.

Appearance: palest celadon green gold, brilliant, active visible bubbles

Nine Pin's Signature blend looks quite pale and brilliant in the glass. It has a subtle but lovely shade that blends green and gold. Very fine bubbles play up to the surface of the liquid. I can see them  immediately after the cider is poured, and they continue for some time.

Aromas: vinous, overripe apple, lots of fruit

I enjoy the Signature Blend's slightly sweet vinous aroma. It contains overripe apples, blackberries, pears, dried apricots, just tons of fruit. At the end I get the barest hint of minerals. It smells like it could be a bit sweeter than the off dry that the company describes it with. Now to taste...

Sweetness: Semi-sweet

This cider is semi-sweet. I'm guessing Nine Pin Cider wants to differentiate its first offering from most industrial ciders with that label. This is a fine idea because this cider does not taste like the increasing range of offerings in grocery store six packs that are sweet and lacking in character. Nine Pin's Signature Blend has plenty of fruit and freshness in its semi-sweetness.

Flavors and drinking experience: tart, easy drinking, fine bubbles

I really enjoy the Signature Blend's fine champagne style bubbles. The cider has lots of fun crisp tartness, like green apples. The mouthfeel is thick but not quite syrupy. It drinks easy with flavors of white chocolate,  and fruit. I taste medium high levels of acidity and no tannins to speak of. Overall, the cider is pleasant and fun.

I'd happily recommend this cider both to long time cider fans and new drinkers of cider. It would make a perfect picnic or brunch cider. Drink with quiche and croissants and plenty of lively conversation!