Cider Review: 2 Towns' Westward Whiskey Bad Apple Imperial Bad Apple Cider

The weather is showing signs of turning. We have cool mornings and nights. The late summer flowers show wear and weathering. Most importantly, it’s time for fresh apples! I’m taking advantage of this preparation for the the coming Fall to enjoy a barrel-aged cider with roasted root vegetables and a tuna steak this weekend. Here’s what I thought of 2 Towns’ Westward Whiskey Bad Apple Imperial Bad Apple Cider.

First, I review 2 Towns ciders enough to just refer readers back to earlier coverage for more background on this inventive Oregon cidery. Here’s a list of the many 2 Towns Ciderhouse reviews I have shared.

I’ve reviewed many 2 Towns Ciders over the years. Here’s a full list.

Sidekick Cosmic Crisp: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/search/label/2%20Towns%20Ciderhouse

Sidekick Pacific Pineapple: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2024/05/cider-review-2-towns-ciderhouse.html

Apricot Cosmic Crisp: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2024/02/cider-review-2-towns-apricot-cosmic.html

The Baddie: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2023/03/cider-review-two-towns-ciderhouses.html

Crimson Bliss: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2022/10/cider-review-2-towns-ciderhouses.html

Hollow Jack’d: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2022/09/cider-review-2-towns-ciderhouses-hollow.html

Two Berry Dream: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2022/08/cider-review-2-towns-ciderhouses-two.html

10th Anniversary Cider Pacific Northwest Heirloom Blend: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/01/cider-review-2-towns-ciderhouse-10th.html

Good Limes Roll: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/07/cider-reviews-two-towns-cider-house.html

Cosmic Currant: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/12/cider-review-two-towns-cosmic-currant.html

Hollow Jack’d: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/10/cider-review-two-towns-ciderhouse.html

Afton Field: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/06/cider-review-2-towns-ciderhouse-afton.html

La Mûre: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/02/cider-review-albemarle-ciderworks.html

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/12/cider-review-eden-ciders-siren-song-and.html

Cidre Bouche: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/11/cider-review-2-towns-ciderhouses-cidre.html

Pearadise: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/05/very-perry-may-2-towns-ciderhouses.html

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

Bright Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/07/cider-review-roundup-common-cider-co.html

Hop and Stalk: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/12/cider-review-2-towns-ciderhouse-hop-and.html

This link will lead to 2 Towns website with more info on all of the cider releases, special events, and more: https://2townsciderhouse.com/

Here’s the official description of 2 Towns’ Westward Bad Apple Imperial cider.

Westward Whiskey® Bad Apple

Imperial Bad Apple

Time to sit in front of the fire and warm up both inside and out with a glass of this rich, delicious barrel aged teamwork in a glass. We took The Bad Apple and aged it in a selection of barrels we borrowed from our friends at Westward Whiskey™. The result is an even bolder version of one of our most flavorful flagships. After we are done with the barrels, we send them back to be used in an apple finished creation of their own. If you love this one, you’re sure to love Westward’s variation!

ABV 12%

I am feeling mildly intimidated by the 12% ABV, so we’ll see how it goes!

Appearance:  lots of bubbles, medium intensity corn yellow, brilliant

What a lovely and active cider! I’m impressed with all of these wild and wiggly bubbles. The color looks like a medium intensity corn yellow, and the clarity is fully brilliant. 

Aromas: Buttery, vanilla frosting, baked apple, spices

The Westward Whiskey Bad Apple smells a lot more delightful and enticing than anything called bad, even ironically, has any right to! These aromas are so inviting and warm and appealing. The first note is buttery oakiness, followed by vanilla frosting and baked apple. It really smells like a freshly baked autumnal apple dessert with only the barest hint of petrol to pull it into a booze direction rather than a sweets direction. 

Sweetness/dryness: Sweet

This is a sweet cider. Yes, there are other wonderful flavor elements in the mix, so the sweetness is not a solo but part of the overall experience. Fans of sem-sweet and sweet ciders will flock to this treat!

Flavors and drinking experience: full body, barrel, caramel, whiskey finish

I love the prevalence of barrel influence on this sweet cider. I think it’s a combo that works well. The Westward Whiskey Bad Apple strikes me even a little pommeau like, with it’s full body, rich sweetness, and major influences not of barrel and baked apple.

The cider’s full body reminds me of a boozy apple crisp as well, but it’s bubbly and driven by high acidity. The sweetness comes across as caramel notes followed by a perfumed whiskey finish. It’s a lovely and complex experience. 

Cider Review: Deep Roots Hard Cider's Double Barrel Reserve

 

I wanted to make comfort food at home this weekend. We’ve had a lot of hard stuff going on lately, and the weekend finally gave me enough breathing room to cook about it. So I made vegetarian lasagna. Every lasagna I’ve ever made is vegetarian, but I looked for ways to pack more vegetables in without losing the dish’s richness and indulgence. It’s supposed to be a super savory pile of cheese and noodles smothered in rich tomato sauce! And as soon as the craving hit, I knew it would be a great chance to pick a big cider with intense flavors as an accompaniment. That’s why this week’s cider review is of Deep Roots Hard Cider's Double Barrel Reserve.

I came across the Double Barrel Reserve when I had the pleasure of judging cider for the PA Farm Show this past December. Deep Roots Hard Cider comes to us from Sugar Run, Pennsylvania. The cidery was founded by Tim Wells in 2015, and this is the first time I’ve managed to snag a bottle for myself. Getting Pennsylvania outside of state is still no easy feat, folks! That’s why this is my first Deep Roots review.

I recommend visiting the cidery online: https://www.deeprootshardcider.com/

Here’s Deep Roots’ official description for the Double Barrel Reserve.  

Double up on what makes our Barrel Reserve great! This bourbon-barrel-aged hard cider starts with our original Northern Spy hard cider aged for a full year in a double-oaked-bourbon barrel. It has notes of vanilla, caramel, and oak with a silky smooth finish.

This small-batch cider sells out fast!

9.9% ABV 

Appearance: Sunny yellow, few visible bubbles, brilliant

What a lovely cider. It doesn’t have the haze that lots of barrel-aged ciders display. Instead I can see a few bubbles in the cider quite clearly. The Double Barrel Reserve is a sunny pastel yellow. Maybe it’s just my wishful thinking, but the color reminds me of spring sunshine.

Aromas: vanilla, caramel, smoke, wood, barrel

The Double Barrel Reserve smells amazingly of vanilla and barrel. The aromas are just so vivid and intense. I also get plentiful aromas of caramel, salt, and smoke. The cider hints at woody and balsam notes.

Sweetness/dryness: Sweet

This is a sweet cider. It’s an unapologetic dessert with plenty of complexity to the sweetness. 

Flavors and drinking experience: Petillant, full body, buttery, barrel, woody

Deep Roots bring us a cider that’s both petillant and sweet. I don’t necessarily associate these two qualities together, but the emphatic barrel focus melds the two. What I get is a rich buttery cider that has dessert levels of sweetness on the mid-palate and a twinge of a bitter hint on the finish. The cider has tons of barrel character and a full body. 

The Double Barrel Reserve cider carries its hefty alcohol-by-volume level well and the strong flavors can stand up to a dish like lasagna.  In a perfect world, I’d love to see all of that fun barrel character countered balanced with more fruit and acid, but it’s hard to get everything in one cider. My co-taster commented that the Double Barrel Reserve tasted intriguingly like a tree or a pine cone with just one sharp hint of apple.

It was a treat to make, pair, and enjoy my lasagna with this rich super-barrely cider. Cheers!

Cider Review Greenwood Cider Co.'s Barrel-Aged Dry

Our gray and brown were temporarily replaced with a beautiful layer of snow, and as it's starting to melt snow is predicted to blanket the region again between Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ve not gotten many snows of substance this year, so I have to admit that part of me is rooting for a big enough snow to feel fully transformative to the landscape. It's always at least a little bit tense in the gray waiting hours for snowfall. More than that though, I want folks to be safe and warm. Snow may be fun for me, but it’s serious for plenty of other folks. In the meantime, I’m excited to share some notes on Greenwood Cider Co.’s Barrel-Aged Dry.

In my earlier reviews of Washington state’s Greenwood Cider Co., I’ve included a bit of additional background on the cidery. Here, I’ll quote Greenwood’s website to use their words of introduction. 

Unfiltered cider made the hard way. Founded in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle in 2015, we turn waste into resource[s] by making cider from forgotten and foraged fruits picked from around the city and deep within the Pacific Northwest forest. That approach continues today. In addition to the more standard Washington apples, we use apples from local farms, small homesteads, and abandoned orchards. We press and produce everything in the city, keeping our hands on the process from start to finish and the cider as local as possible. It's an uncompromising blend of modern tastes and traditional cidermaking.

I’ve reviewed a few Greenwood Cider Co. ciders before. Here’s the short list. 

Kingston Black: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/01/cider-review-greenwood-cider-kingston.html

Lingonberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/07/cider-review-greenwood-ciders.html

Black Currant Asian Pear: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/05/very-perry-may-review-of-greenwood.html

I recommend visiting Greenwood Cider on the web to learn about all that this company has going on: https://www.greenwoodcider.com/

Here’s how Greenwood Cider Co. describes the Barrel-Aged Dry.

Our signature Dry Cider blend aged for six months in bourbon barrels. Enticing aromas of green plums and vanilla are followed by bright apple acidity with a dry oak finish. 8.5% ABV. 

Appearance: brilliant, medium intensity warm straw, no visible bubbles

This mellow cider just looks tremendously inviting. I don’t see any bubbles, but I do see tremendous brilliance and a lovely warm straw color.

Aromas: barrel, hay, apple core, spicy peppers

This cider’s six months in bourbon barrels shows up emphatically in the cider’s aroma. The Barrel-Aged dry smells like butterscotch, cooked apples, apple core, and breadcrumbs. Secondarily, I notice notes of hay, hot peppers, rubber, and other elements that are either aquatic, or sharp and boozy. It’s a complex array of inviting and wild smells.

Dryness/sweetness: off dry/dry

Greenwood Cider Company has almost certainly released an actually dry cider, but barrel aging can introduce scents and flavors that can complicate the perception of sweetness. There’s enough atmosphere of butterscotch, maple and cooked fruit that it’s hard for me to fully appreciate the dryness of the cider.

Flavors and drinking experience: butterscotch, plum pudding, barrel, spicy, maple

The tall one said immediately that drinking this cider reminds him of plum pudding with raisins and hard sauce. That’s not an experience I’ve had, so I cannot speak to the association. To me, the Barrel-Aged Dry tastes like butterscotch. It’s so very barrel aged that it doesn’t taste fully dry. There are enough dessert notes that come from the apple and the barrel that don’t even rely on actual sweetness to connote butterscotch, applesauce, and maple syrup. 

That’s not all that I’m noticing though. The cider also tastes spicy with notes hot peppers like I detected in the aromas. The cider has high tannins and medium high acidity and a strong alcohol presence. The cider is warming with prickly bubbles. I love how this complex cider ends with a perfumed finish and a phenolic edge. It’s never just one thing!

Greenwood Cider Co. has created something both interesting and tasty with the Barrel-Aged Dry! I enjoyed mine with vegetarian borscht: a seasonal classic in my house.

Cider Review: Big Hill Ciderworks' Barrel-Aged Reserve Cider

I just filled out my calendar with plans (and necessary blocks of preparation time) for all the big stuff happening between now and the end of 2022. I couldn’t believe how close we are to the end of the year. I can’t say I’ll be sad to see the last of 2022, but I’m also amazed by how busy the next four weeks are going to be. I know I’m not alone, so best of luck to you with your busy-ness! 

One quick reminder. I do a Favorite 10 Ciders list each year just before the end of the year. It’s a fun way to reflect on the delicious bottles and great cider experiences of the previous year. And this year will be the 10th list! Any guesses about what ciders will make the cut? 

Today, I’m sharing my notes on Big Hill Ciderworks' Barrel-Aged Reserve Cider. This cidery is based out of Adams County, Pennsylvania. Here’s how the company describes how locally oriented Big Hill Ciderworks is.

We grow, press, ferment, bottle and distribute all of our ciders right from our orchards in Adams County, PA.  You won’t find added sugars, sweeteners, or natural flavors in any of our ciders.  Rather, we blend different varieties of apples and other fruits from our farms and then our modern ciders are back-sweetened with fresh pressed juice.  The end result - wholesome ciders that are made almost entirely of fruit grown right on our farms.  Enjoy a bottle or swing out and have a pint at our taphouse!

I’ve only previously reviewed a couple of ciders by Big Hill Ciderworks. Here are both reviews.

Manchurian: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/07/cider-review-mountain-wests-cottonwood.html

Little Round Hop: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/11/cider-reviews-big-hill-ciderworks.html

Visit Big Hill Ciderworks online to see what’s happening at the cidery and read about all the tasty releases: http://www.bighillcider.com/home

Here’s how Big Hill Ciderworks describes the Barrel-Aged Reserve Cider: one of the traditional offerings.

BARREL AGED RESERVE     8.4%ABV

Our Barrel Aged Reserve Cider is a unique blend of bittersweet & bittersharp apples varieties grown right here in our orchards.  A complex, tart and tannic flavor profile will pair well with cheese, pork, shellfish and much more.

Appearance: intense harvest gold color, brilliant, tiny bubbles

This cider looks inviting even before I pour it. I love the Barrel-Aged Reserve’s deep harvest gold and brilliance. I can see plentiful tiny bubbles, so I’m not anticipating a still cider. 

Aromas: Ripe apples, woody, homemade apple syrup

This cider’s scents don’t reach super far. I have to put my nose close to the liquid to get much detail; it’s medium intensity rather than anything stronger. The Barrel-Aged Reserve smells like ripe apples and the blunt clean woody side of barrel aging. I get less of the smoky or buttery scents that can come with some kinds of barrel time. Interestingly, I note a little waft of apple syrup once the cider warms up. 

Sweetness/dryness: off-dry

It could be illusory, but I can feel just enough fruit and body to make me think the cider is off-dry rather than fully bone dry. Big Hill’s Barrel-Aged Reserve isn’t pinning to many expectations to sweetness though. 

Flavors and drinking experience: Zingy, medium tannins, balanced

The Barrel-Aged Reserve wears its barrel lightly and integrates the tannins beautifully into the overall drinking experience. It does taste dry to off dry upon repeated sips. I find the whole experience quite balanced. The cider feels light in body but the ABV is 8.4%, so watch out. The cider is very good and shockingly easy to drink. I find it to be a tremendously good winter cider

I paired this with a butternut squash casserole and my second batch of cranberry relish: delish!

Cider Review Wild Arc Cider! and News

Cider can be so much more than a beverage: tasted for a moment and then forgotten. Cider can make a meal, a memory, or a memorial of the harvest from which it came. This past weekend, I was lucky enough to see all of these possibilities come together in a Brooklyn night time garden with just a few friends and loved ones. Here’s how it all came together over Wild Arc Farm’s Cider! at Pheasant. 

First, a bit of background about Wild Arc Farm. Todd Cavallo & Crystal Cornish founded this small farm in New York’s Hudson valley. On the website, it’s described as, “An experiment in regenerative permaculture and viticulture in the Hudson Valley. Wild Arc Farm is a pursuit of sustainable food and beverage production within the small farm environment.” This is my first ever review of anything by Wild Arc Farm. It looks like they make more wines than ciders, and everything is made in small quantities. 

You can see some views of the farm and see where Wild Arc Farm beverages are found at the website: https://www.wildarcfarm.com/

And if you’re curious about the meal (which you should be), I recommend checking out Pheasant for yourself: https://www.pheasantnyc.com/. Everything we tasted was amazing, and the staff took wonderful care of us. 

Here’s how Wild Arc Describes the Cider:

A pear and apple blended cider. Northern Spy apples from coming from Ontario county in northern New York state and the Callery pears from the Wild Arc Farm itself. Wild yeast fermentation, not filtered or fined and aged in neutral barrel prior to being canned with a sparkling finish. Crisp, dry and pleasantly summery. 

Wild Arc Farm Description 

Todd on this bev: “We have a number of Callery Pear trees on our farm and have always wanted to do something with the tiny, tart, tannin-packed fruits.” 

Fruit: Northern Spy from an IPM-farmed orchard in Ontario County, North Fork + Callery Pears from Todd’s own farm 

Making of: a couple of buckets of pears were macerated in the cider, then racked into neutral French oak 500L puncheons and left undisturbed for 6 months before canning.

We got to sit outside in the newly cool evening in a golden back garden surrounded by plants. Now, here’s how it tasted and paired with my evening.

Appearance: hazy, lemon curd, bubbles

I love freeing cider from a can, so I can really see and smell my cider before trying it. The Cider!  was rewarding to see with its hazy lemon curd color and active bubbles. Seeing it increased my anticipation.

Aromas: minerals, melon, lemon and apple blossom

Wild Arc’s cider’ brings minerals to mind immediately as its primary aroma note. Secondarily I smell melon, summer fruits, and lemon. I get a spritz of apple blossom as well. One of my co-tasters noticed mild funk surrounded by clean mineral austerity. 

Sweetness/dryness: semi-dry

There was some friendly debate at our table about the dryness of this cider. Primarily it tastes dry, but it’s not completely dry. Pears have a kind of sweetness (sorbitol) that can never be fermented out, so that makes it just a bit tricky. The cider’s tannins and acidity will also affect how we interpret its sweetness. I think it tastes semi-dry, but the Tall One found it closer to semi-sweet.

Flavors and drinking experience: high acid, medium tannins, plentiful bubbles

We agreed around our table that the cider tastes not overly Perry-esque.  There’s not a ton of sorbitol or horse hoof which are both relatively common flavors for perry. The apple pear blend integrated really nicely. The whole experience is balanced and semi-dry with high but not insane acidity and medium tannins. The pears add a richness and roundness to the whole experience. 

The cider is made tremendously food-friendly with its strong sparkle. I could taste my crispy fried Delicata squash, sip my cider, and then be ready to switch to heirloom tomato salad or white wine shrimp with a clean palate. The cider finishes out with a clean clean finish that matches its aromas and flavors. I agree with the makers that the overall impression is summery. And that was key to my experience this past weekend. 

There’s nothing more summer and special than a long leisurely dinner under string lights that lets the talking stretch until late. The season has to be at that comfortable time when one can be outside and just forget about temperature altogether. I could focus on sharing bites of bitter peppers and creamy burrata or getting a perfect bit of jammy egg and sips of my ultra-refreshing  cider. Even more importantly, I could dive deep into sharing stories and connection with my people. Isn’t it nice to do that with something delicious? I treasure it.

I can’t leave this week without sharing a bit of news. I’m now officially a Pommelier! I passed my Certified Pommelier exam. It’s a tremendous honor to be one of the 45 current Pommeliers, and I can’t wait to see where this road leads.

Check out the full story from the American Cider Association: https://ciderassociation.org/third-exam-of-2022-welcomes-eight-new-certified-pommeliers 

Cider Review: Peak Light Cider's Farm School

All I want is flowers. It's ridiculous. This craving feels like it belongs to springtime and just wandered into my brain by mistake. Nonetheless, what brings me joy right now is Cosmos, Zinnia, Spider Plant, Mums, Coneflowers, Mayweed, and Sunflowers.  Please just stick me in a garden with a plate of cheese and a cider; I’ll come back in a few weeks, I promise. 

For right now I want to share Peak Light Cider’s Farm School. I got to sip this cider with friends and brunch on the screen porch. What a lovely way to enjoy a cider.

Peak Light Cider comes to us from Sauvie Island in Oregon. The farm is biodynamic and organic. The cidery was founded by Jen and Travis Lovejoy. Here’s how Peak Light Cider introduces the cidery.

This isn’t just cider. This is a farm to bottle experience of organically grown apples hand-picked at peak ripeness. Where honeybees dance and gatherings are queen. Where days are spent outdoors, dirtying hands, laughing, swapping stories, and staying for supper. Because community is more than who you know, what we drink matters, and every glass feels like coming home.

Peak Light Cider has only had one previous review. I checked out the Field Run: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/04/cider-review-peak-light-ciders-field.html

I recommend visiting Peak Light Cider’s website to learn more about the cider and its offerings: https://peaklightcider.com/

Here’s the cider’s official description.

This cider is a creation of collaboration and partnership with Wombat Flats Farm on Kiger Island, Oregon. This limited release cider from the 2020 harvest blends traditional bittersweet and bittersharp apples, including Yarlington Mill, Brown Snout, Muscadet de Dieppe, Vilberie, and Porter’s Perfection. Aromas of molasses and tilled loam soil with notes of chestnut and buckwheat honey. This bitter cider pairs well with radicchio salad and fresh baked bread with herbed butter.

It honors an Autumn of social distancing from broader communities, while coliving with dear friends, homeschooling and working together on the family farm. How bittersweet it is! Enjoy. Preferably with friends or family and some afterglow.

Appearance: warm apricot, brilliant, bubbly

Farm School poured with a bit of mousse all the way through the bottle. There’s that much bubble to see! The color reminds me of mango, tea, or apricot with a medium intensity and a gentle warmth. The cider’s clarity is brilliant.

Aromas: Overripe mushy apple, caramel, spice. 

The farm school smells like fall to me. The predominant note is overripe soft apples. Secondarily I get hints of caramel that make me think of barrels and just a hint of oxidation. There’s also a little baking spice in the grace notes.

Dryness/Sweetness: Dry

This is a dry cider. If you want a great example of a cider that will help you differentiate between acidity and tannins, this is super clear example. Read on for more.

Flavors and drinking experience: very tannic, medium acidity, barrel quality, boozy

 

I love how the Farm School tastes. This is a mature cider that’s at ease with its dry, very tannic profile. It has medium acidity to my palate, but I’d be curious what folks who primarily drink west coast ciders would say. There are still caramel notes like were present in the aroma, but they rise and swell without sweetness. The cider’s fruity appley mid-palate folds into a slightly boozy barrelly finish. There’s just a bit of funk, but not much.

Overall the Farm school is a cider with big full flavors but with a gentle smooth transition through every moment of the tasting experience. It was a wonderful pairing with coconut spice muffins, late summer vegetable frittata, and vegetarian chorizo. What a treat!

Cider Review: Snow Capped Cider's Single Varietal Blanc Mollet

If you’re feeling like I’m feeling right now, it’s not a good week. I won’t rehash the miseries of the news and hypocrises of the United States Supreme Court, but I want anyone who comes to this blog to know that abortion is healthcare. I stand with the majority of Americans who support abortion rights.  

While a donation isn’t everything, it’s certainly better than doing nothing: https://abortionfunds.org/

Now that I’ve exercised my first amendment right to free speech, I’ll continue with some thoughts on a cider I enjoyed a few weeks ago.  

The fine folks at Snow Capped Cider shared a bottle of the Single Varietal Blanc Mollett with me, and I’m super excited to review it. I’ve never had a single varietal of this apple before; I may never have had it in a cider before (though I don’t know that with certainty). As always, a sample does not guarantee a review or influence my opinion. Right now, I have much more cider in my cellar than writing time in my calendar. 

Snow Capped Cider comes to us from Colorado as a project within a multi-generation family farm. You can find more background information in my earlier reviews linked below.

Harrison Reserve (My #5 favorite cider of 2021): http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/12/cider-review-snow-capped-cider-harrison.html

Gold Rush: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2022/04/cider-review-snow-capped-ciders-gold.html

Check out all of Snow Capped Cider’s offerings here: https://snowcappedcider.com/

Here’s how Snow Capped Cider describes the Single Varietal Blanc Mollet:

This bittersweet apple was grown in our Colorado orchards, then romantically aged in pear brandy barrels for six months. Blanc Mollet is as delightful as its french apple namesake. Introducing itself with a deep, golden hue, inviting aroma and smooth medium astringency on the palate. Loving notes of sweet pear, orange blossom and vanilla dance together ending with a warm, slightly dry finish.

Alcohol 8.90%

Appearance: intense cinnamon color, brilliant, few visible bubbles

This cider’s color reminds me of cinnamon, tea, and medium warm brown saddle leather. It’s earthy and inviting. The cider has brilliance but very few visible bubbles. 

Aromas: juicy, overripe apples, sweet cherries, ice cider

Wow! The Blanc Mollet offers a complex and enticing bouquet. It smells juicy and mellow with notes of overripe apples and barrel-y caramel. The parade of scents continues by reminding me of ice cider, sweet cherries, and brown sugar. The cider’s aromas are concentrated and powerful. 

Sweetness/dryness: Dry

There’s a ton going on in this cider, but the Blanc Mollet is dry. 

Flavors and drinking experience: Leather, warmth, rich, medium tannins

The Blanc Mollet’s intricacies continue with a wonderful taste experience. The cider reminds me of leather, with its warmth, richness, and mild astringency. There’s just so much velvety, crackly texture in these medium tannins and full body. The Blanc Mollet has medium-high acidity which helps keep the cider from going too loose or heavy. I was surprised to find it barely petillant rather than bringing a stronger bubble.

The barrel aging is incorporated so smoothly into the cider, that it’s a blended part of the flavor throughout. It neither spikes nor dips, and it doesn’t dominate the experience. I appreciate that sense of balance tremendously.

Take care of yourselves and each other, cider friends.

Cider Roundup: Berkshire Cider Project

This weekend I traveled to North Adams, Massachusetts to see dear college friends, Kraftwerk, and Mass MoCA. All were amazing. It was a remarkably excellent time. The Berkshires are  beautiful, and I loved seeing these wonderful friends. Kraftwerk put on a heck of a show, plus we saw a black bear! 

And though this is not an art blog at all, I have to say that I loved MASS MoCA. It’s a museum with a sense of scale unlike any other. It's worth a longer trip, just to experience this amazing place. My favorite art experience had to be encountering Marc Swason’s “A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco.” I recommend checking it out: https://massmoca.org/event/marc-swanson-a-memorial-to-ice-at-the-dead-deer-disco/

And I had the pleasure of visiting the Berkshire Cider Project as well. 

Here’s what the folks say about themselves online:

Berkshire Cider Project was founded by wife and husband team, Kat Hand  and Matt Brogan. Our cidermaking is inspired by the art, agriculture and community that makes our region so special.

We opened July 2020 located at the beautiful Greylock WORKS facility on State Road – a former textile mill turned event venue, co-working space and food incubator.

Kat manages our business while maintaining a consulting role in corporate sustainability. Matt is our head cidermaker after a career as an architectural consultant for performing arts centers and theatres.

 

I recommend visiting the project’s website (and if you can the tasting room): https://www.berkshire-cider.com/

My tall companion and I tried these several; here were my favorite four!

Bittersweet:

I loved the Bittersweet This cider’s nose was subtly twiggy, with notes of wet forest leaves, vanilla, and lemon. It tasted delicious! I found The Bitterwsweet petillant, nearly still, dry and very tannic. It did have enough acid to balance out the tannins, but it's unambiguously tannin-forward. Something about the cider came across as warm—not in a boozy way but rather in a full-bodied, round way.

Windy Hill: 

This cider is barrel aged for 10 months in neutral oak barrels, and it's a wild ferment! The cider’s aromas were all caramel, cinnamon, and stone. It tasted high acid with heavy minerality plus barrel, with some nice toastiness of breadcrumb and pollen. This cider also brings lots of tannins to the table—mostly from the barrel—they are pleasant and not overpowering. The Windy Hill is a dry cider but still wafts a pleasant caramel illusion of sweetness due to barrel notes.

Hancock Shaker Village 2020:

This cider smelled stronger and more vibrant than some. I loved the notes of cooked fruit with just a little funk. This cider brings the acid! It’s twisty and gnarled like a thin branch of a tree buffeted by wind. I found it massively interesting and rewarding. My companion suggests sipping this one slowly. Again, there’s no sweetness, not too much cottony tannins, but the bitter notes linger. It’s funky in a smoky, baconlike, British profile way. Definitely a winner.

Dry:

This is the first of their cidres I tried because it was an interesting option at a local restaurant The cider immediately comes with farm, funk, mildly reductive lemon scents. Secondarily, I can notice white flowers, green grapes and black pepper on the nose. The wild and farmy notes blow off quickly in a wide-mouth glass. The Dry tastes unsurprisingly tannic and dry.This cider blasts with high acidity that comes across with a citrus flavor. I found the body pleasantly light with some little cottony mouth drying tannins. The flavors slowly blooms to remind me of pears just before a clean finish with a sweet aftertaste. The most surprising flavor was a flash of sunflower seeds. Some funk is present but very controlled. 

This is a strong lineup! Berkshire Cider Project has lots of other fun ciders many of which are more sour and funky than the ones I highlighted. I recommend investigating if you have the chance. I brought a few more ciders home that I wasn’t able to sample in the tasting room, so I’m looking forward to sharing those reviews in the coming months. 

Cider Reviews: Whitewood Cider Co.'s Newtown Pippin Gin-Barrel Aged Cider and Eden Speciality Cider's Brut Nature

The world is a scary place right now. I’m not equipped to say much about COVID-19, but I know it’s affecting all of us. I’m working from home, minimizing social contact, and thinking of people affected far more seriously than me. 

Those groups include so much of the beverage world, everyone from bartenders to cider makers. Some businesses are making very hard choices right now so that they can continue to support their employees while also doing their part to keep wider communities safe. Buy from them if you can!

I’m starting with Whitewood Cider Co.'s Newtown Pippin Gin-Barrel Aged Cider. This is a Washington State micro-cidery that I adore. I only wish I could get Dave’s ciders more often here in New York. If you ever see these on a list or a shelf, try them! 

Here’s Whitewood Cider Co’s website, along with the promise of pickup and cider delivery starting soon: http://whitewoodcider.com/

I’ve reviewed a few of their ciders before. Here’s the list.

McIntosh: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/01/cider-review-whitewood-cider-company.html

Northland Traditional Blend: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/01/cider-review-whitewood-cider-company.html

Olivia: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/03/cider-review-whitewood-cider-cos-olivia.html

Kingston Black and Wickson Apple: 
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/09/my-dear-friend-el-just-had-birthday.html
This one even landed in the #4 slot of my 2018 top ten cider list.

Here’s the description of the Newtown Pippin Gin Barrel Aged Cider from Whitewood Cider Co: “5 months in former Westland Distillery whiskey barrel, turned Big Gin gin barrel and Newtown Pippin's lime and tropical characteristics fused every so nicely with the wood and leftover gin and botanicals. Reminiscent of a real dry, woody gin and tonic.” 7% ABV.

Appearance: brilliant, jeweler’s brass, visible bubbles

This bright cider reminds me of jeweler’s brass (also known as Merlin’s Gold) in color. It’s brilliantly clear with no haze at all. I see some visible bubbles. 

Aromas: fresh apple, sage, basil, butterscotch and barrel

I love the herbal notes that explode into the air as soon as I crack this bottle open. The Newtown Pippin gets so many notes from that gin barrel aging but the fresh apple still come through. At the same time, I can smell sage, basil, butterscotch, and barrel.

All of the herbs create a whole impression that’s savory, peppery, and green. The butterscotch and woodiness come from the barrel character for certain. 

Sweetness/dryness: semi-dry

This lovely cider is a well balanced semi-dry.

Flavors and drinking experience: herbaceous, spicy, high acid, barrely

The Newtown Pippin brings much of what I could smell into the taste beautifully. There are oodles of herbs and apples, and somehow I also get menthol, spicy, and barrely notes. This cider brings medium tannins, high acid, and a pronounced woody finish.

 This feels like a journey from scent to tastes to finish. I experience apples, gin herbs, and barrel complexity each in turn. This is wonderful! This cider has a medium light mouthfeel and lots of sparkle. The Newtown Pippin has small yet plentiful bubbles. 

I paired this quite spontaneously with chocolate cookies, good companionship and worry about the state of the world. I think you can probably do better, but this cider was fantastic even so. 

Next up, it’s Eden Speciality Cider's Brut Nature.

I love Eden Specialty Ciders. That’s no secret. I’m a member of the cider club, and I review the ciders often. Plus I have such respect and affection for founder Eleanor Leger. This is a small cidery in northern Vermont that started with ice cider, then added aperitifs, and in the past few years has released a number of outstanding still and sparkling ciders made with heirloom apples. 

The Brut Nature got a mini-review before it’s release at Cider Con 2018. I’ll link to that here.

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/cider-con-2018-pt-1-eden-specialty.html

Other previous Eden reviews include: 

The Extra Sec: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/03/cider-review-angry-orchard-super.html

Siren Song: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/12/cider-review-eden-ciders-siren-song-and.html

Ezekiel: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/01/cider-review-eden-specialty-ciders.html

Imperial 11 Degree Rose: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-january-2017-cidrbox-and-edens.html (This is my fave cider of 2017.)

Heritage canned cider: 
https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/06/cider-cans-crush-it-eden-heritage-and.html

Sparkling Dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/06/cider-review-eden-sparkling-dry-cider.html (also a top ten cider.)

When you’re stuck inside, take some time to learn about all of Eden ciders on the website: https://www.edenciders.com/

Appearance: brilliant, warm straw, tiny dancing bubbles

This hand-disgorged cider shows off all that hard labor by looking totally brilliant. It’s enticing to see. The color reminds me of warm afternoon sunlight, and I can see tiny bubbles dancing their way to the surface. 

Aromas: nectar, overripe apples, fall flowers, and falling leaves 

This cider is extremely aromatic. I remember noticing that at CiderCon as well. It’s just a lovely floral and overripe fruit melange expanding in all directions. Something about this aroma just reminds me of fall and harvest, somehow the aromas are fall flowers and falling leaves. 

Sweetness/dryness: Dry (with a caveat)

This cider tastes dry. It isn’t bone dry or drying, but the cider doesn’t really lean on the bare hint of sweetness that is hiding in its layers. 

Flavors and drinking experience: fruity, dry, high acid, high level of sparkle. 

The Brut Nature is a spicy, fruity, dry cider with plenty of acidity and tannins to power a bounteous experience with sip. I love ciders that go all in on all of my favorite characteristics, and this certainly does that. The fruit notes are tropical fruit and pomme fruit, but there’s plenty of floral and spicy notes too. The cider is super bubbly; the natural secondary fermentation keeps them small and vigorous. 

I enjoyed this cider alongside roasted veggies with mushroom gravy, sharp cheddar and good wheat-y bread. It was a lovely meal meant to give sustenance and warmth in difficult nights, and the cider helped elevate it from just supper to a fortifying and delicious experience. 

Good luck this week and beyond. When I raise my glass, I’ll think of you, my faraway cider friends. 

South Hill Cider's Tasting Room and Flight Plus FLX Cider Week!

Hey cider fans! I’m so excited for Finger Lakes Cider Week! It’s coming right up, so I thought I’d put our one last reminder for a few of the awesome events that I’ll be supporting this year.

Events where you can find me:

9/26, Not Far From the Tree: An Evening Celebrating Apples & Cider- https://www.facebook.com/events/2322642131307274/

Autumn Shosteck of Eve’s Cidery and Steve Selin of South Hill Cider with both be joining me talking about orchards, apples, ciders, and food pairings. This is an evening packed with cider education plus local farm-to-table dishes and ciders at Coltivare. Tickets are $50.

9/28, Jason Wilson & Meredith Collins | The Cider Revival
https://www.facebook.com/events/2365892806779923/

I’m stoked to interview Jason Wilson about his new book at Buffalo Street Books at 4pm this Saturday. Jason will read a few sections from his book: Cider Revival: Dispatches from the Orchard and you can taste samples by Grisamore Ciderworks. This event is totally free! You can always choose to support Grisamore Ciderworks or Jason and Buffalo St. Books, and I encourage you to do so!

10/3, Basics of Cider Tasting at The Watershed:
https://www.facebook.com/events/704691016703741/

Next week at The Watershed (http://www.thewatershedithaca.com/) join me! Everyone is welcome to purchase a glass of cider from the expanded cider week selection. I’ll be in the back discussing the basics of cider tasting and geeking out! No entry fee, just buy some cider!

I want to keep the Finger Lakes celebration going this week by talking about the opening of South Hill Cider’s new tasting room!

I've previously reviewed a few ciders from South Hill Cider:

Prelude #3:http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/12/cider-review-south-hill-ciders-prelude.html

A newer Prelude #7:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/07/cider-review-aeppeltreow-scarlett-rosey.html

Bluegrass Russet: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/04/cider-review-sea-ciders-ruby-rose-and.html

Finger Lakes Cider pairing dinner: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/09/finger-lakes-cider-week-and-birthday.html

My top cider of 2016, the Stone Fence Farm: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/cider-review-south-hill-ciders-stone.html

2014 Packbasket: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/04/cider-review-south-hill-ciders-2014.html

And my first review for them was the hyper-limited Hypothesis: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/05/cider-review-south-hill-ciders.html

I made my way to South Hill Cider’s new tasting room on the second of two soft-opening afternoons. It was a race to make it up there after hours of my day job downtown, but I did! The setting is rural and lovely with breathtaking views and easy access to one of the area’s best waterfalls: Buttermilk Falls. Steve started the farm in 2014 after ordering a batch of cider-specific apple trees in 2012. And so much has happened in the cider world since that early investment!

The parking lot was full when I pulled in, but most folks were enjoying the outdoor area with glasses of cider and picnic tables. Steve found me and my dear friend Maria (of https://ciderwithmaria.com/) and volunteered to guide us through our tastings himself. She went with the Premium tasting and I chose the Classic South Hill Cider Tasting.

Here’s what I tasted!

We started with the Baldwin; it’s a new release. Here’s how South Hill describes it, “2018. New England single varietal. Fine bubble, mouth watering, long finish. 8.5%”

What I noticed first about it was the applesauce aroma. I am a total sucker for this particular scent, so I got very excited! This cider’s apples come from just two orchards. I loved how super dry, high acid, and super bubbly this cider tasted. It’s crisp and citrusy and may have been my new favorite.

The second cider in the flight was Russet Dabinett. The official description and tasting notes read, “Dry and Still. Complex. Featuring cider apple varieties indigenous to NY State and England. Golden Russet is native to New York and Dabinett from Somerset, England. Tasting Notes: Deep Honey color with a smooth mid-palate and a mineral and textured finish. Very long finish. Flavors of honeycomb, elderflower, lychee, sour plum, white pepper, papaya, ripe plum  skin, subtle vanilla.” 8.1% ABV

This cider’s nose reminded me white wine, almost like a spicy Gewurztraminer. When I taste this cider, it’s more mellow than the aromas imply.  Steve talked about how it is blended for structure with a different grouping of apples each year. The cider is dry but tastes off dry and just a little bit barrely.

We then moved on to Old-Time ‘17. Online descriptions say, “Off-dry. Naturally Sparkling. Predominantly from abandoned and wild homestead trees, reflecting the perfection of their diversity and age. The name Old-Time is a nod to both the cidermakers from past generations who produced ciders from these trees and to the style of music cidermaker Steve plays: American old-time music. Tasting Notes: Light gold. Soft rounded bubbles, notes of strawberry, grapefruit seed, butterscotch, musk.” 7.5% ABV

This cider is all about zesty acid in my book. I got more barrel character than from my previous two ciders. This one is definitely semi-dry with a residual sugar of 1.8% and a titratable acidity of 8.1 grams per litre. This cider is very approachable and easy; I’m sure it will be among the most popular at the tasting room.

Our next cider was the Bluegrass Russet ‘17. This cider is made from the same blend every year and fermented and aged in stainless steel. The description for this cider introduces it as, “Off-dry. This cider showcases the Golden Russet apple, a native apple to New York, historically prized for it's excellent flavor in cider and on the table. Custom fermentation and bottling using the Charmat method. Naturally Sparkling. Tasting Notes: Lively effervescence. Crisp. Peach, raspberry, beeswax.” 8.2% ABV

I got the most intense aromas yet when this cider was poured. Notes of concentrated fruitiness just wafted from the glass, primarily pineapple and pear. This has the same level of residual sugar as the previous cider but lower acidity and higher ABV. Those factors combine to make it taste both fuller and sweeter.

And we ended with one of my favorite things in the entirety of the cider world: pommeau. Steve poured the Pommeau ‘17. As South Hill’s website says, this is a “Port-style cider. An apple apertif/digestif from a blend of barrel-aged Apple Spirits (Eau de Vie) with unfermented and unfiltered apple cider. During months of aging, the pommeau naturally clarifies to an amber liquid of exquisite character. Still and sweet. Tasting Notes: Deep gold. Warming, rich and velvety. Aromas of honey and clove. Nutmeg, amaretto, sun-warmed plum.” ABV of 19%.

Based on Steve’s description of the process, it’s clear that this pommeau will change subtly year to year but slowly home in on a more and more consistent flavor profile. He uses a barrel blending method with many different vintages working to tempering the variance with those blends. The Pommeau smells simply heavenly: rich and buttery. Flavors are just silky smooth and velvety cooked apple, caramel biscuit, and butterscotch. The sweetness smoothes out the ABV and the ABV provides some backbone and fire to a sweet cider. It’s tension and balance working together perfectly!

Cider Review: Stem Cider's Banjo and Grand Illusion Cider's Blue Illusion

Before I get into this week’s reviews, I do want to remind folks of two upcoming cider competitions for which I’ll be volunteering. I admit my bias freely, but I’m excited to be involved with both of these competitions, and I hope cider makers of all styles and categories will enter their favorites.

 New York Cider Competition through the Raise a Glass Foundation: https://cider.raiseaglassfoundation.com/

GLINTCAP (still a few more day for discounted registration): https://glintcap.org/register/

This week, I have two fun and different ciders. Before I start my reviews for the week, let me mention that both ciders were samples shared with me for review. A free cider doesn’t sway my opinion; I review based only on my perceptions. Both of this week’s are on the more inventive rather than traditionalist side of the spectrum. The first is Stem Cider’s Banjo

Stem Ciders is a company out of LaFayette, Colorado. The company dates back to 2013, but the flagship cider Real Dry Apple Cider was born even before the company in 2011. The company’s philosophy section of the website identifies a clear focus and mission within the cider world: one that straddles experimentation and apple-focus. (Read it here: https://stemciders.com/philosophy/). 

 I have reviewed two Stem ciders before. 

I tried the Pear Apple in 2017: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/06/pickcider-review-stem-ciders-pear-apple.html

And I enjoyed Stem Ciders’ Perry last year during Very Perry May: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/05/very-perry-may-tieton-cider-works.html

You can find out all about the company online: https://stemciders.com

Here’s the official description, “Crisp apple melodies and smoky undertones come together to create Banjo. Carefully picked apples are fermented dry and aged in bourbon barrels to smooth perfection. Pour a glass, find a band and marinate the day away.” 6.9%ABV.

Appearance: hazy, no visible bubbles, pale honey

I know it’s a cheat to call a cider honey colored because honey comes in as many colors as cider does, but that’s what looking at the Banjo makes me think about. It’s pale and nearly transparent but not bubbly, not golden, and not quite brilliant. Instead it looks like a mild pale honey. 

Aromas: Alcohol, bourbon mash, vanilla, smoke

Almost all of the Banjo’s smells relate to the barrel aging. It’s scent pours forth with notes of  bourbon mash, alcohol, corn, smoke, wood, steel. Secondarily, the cider smells of sour and sweet apple notes, but then we return to barrel qualities with sweet creaminess and vanilla. This collaboration is going to be very barrel forward, I predict.

Sweetness/dryness: off dry

This cider is mostly dry and has lots of different moments of flavor, but sweetness only makes a fleeting appearance at the beginning and end of the cider’s flavors.

Flavors and drinking experience: whiskey, hot, astringent, tannic

This is almost certainly a divisive cider for Stem fans. It tastes overwhelming of whiskey and barrel notes. I imagine whiskey drinkers and barrel fans (perhaps even stout drinkers) like it very much but those who want a more fruit forward cider might be less into it. I can see both sides of the story; for me, this has to come down to how such a cider might be best served.

The Banjo’s first note is grainy and intriguing, following instantly by a big wave of astringence sweeping the tongue front to back. It feels a little hot despite the perfectly reasonable ABV.  The wave dissipates, and what comes after both feels and tastes lighter. The barrel contributes corn, toasty, vanilla, and smoky notes.  

Somehow this cider can swing between cool and then warm all in one sip. I’m glad that there’s plenty of acid, which serves to deliver the bitterness in a more balanced way. Though I couldn’t see them, the Banjo brings  plenty of fine bubbles. It goes all over the place, but averages out to mildly more than  medium mouthfeel. Yes, it’s  tannic but only in a barrel way.  I got into its groove, but as a whiskey collaboration, it's definitely heavy on the whiskey end. I had this cider with veggie barbeque, corn, and cheddar. It could have handled even heartier foods. I’d love to try it again with a rich and smoky bean chili and cornbread. 

Grand Illusion Cider’s Blue Illusion

Grand Illusion Cider comes from Carlyle, Pennsylvania. The company has a restaurant and makes cider. You can also find a variety of beers, wines, and special events at the location.

Visit Grand Illusion’s website to learn more : https://www.grandillusioncider.com


A few months ago, I shared my first review of a cider by Grand Illusion Cider: Mystic Citra Pineapple: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/08/cider-review-grand-illusion-hard-cider.html

The official description of the Blue Illusion is short and to the point, “This well-balanced blueberry-lavender cider offers a pleasant sweetness and a light berry fruitiness; it finishes with a touch of English lavender.” 6.5% ABV I’ve not had very many lavender ciders, so I’m curious to see how that flavor profile will blend with apple and blueberry.

Appearance: Cloudy, magenta, bubbly

This cider bubbles excitingly, just as the color strikes an intriguing ambiguous place  between red and purple. Let’s call it magenta, but I’m hard pressed to know if it’s more like red grape or a plum color. What I can tell is that it’s not filtered; this cider is cloudy!

Aromas: yeast, lavender, acetic acid, blueberry and apples

There’s a rich fermenty note that starts off my experience of the Blue Illusion; I think this comes from the yeast chosen. The Blue Illusion smells very much of both lavender and blueberry, with some tart acetic acid thrown into the mix. While there’s not a lot of apple in the aroma, I do smell some, blended with the clean yeast to remind me of apple pastries.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-dry

This is a semi-dry cider but one kept there by acidity rather than by austerity.

Flavors and drinking experience: Blueberry, lavender, lemon curd, high acid

The Blue Illusion tastes of lavender but most of its character can be traced back to blueberry; it’s not very apple-forward. The acidity in this cider is high and reminds me of lemon curd. That’s a flavor I love! This cider tastes enjoyable in an easy-going and approachable way. 

The mouthfeel is wet and full. The whole experience reminds me of blueberry muffins; that could also be the yeast notes from the smell coming through in a new way with all of the fruity notes.  The Blue Illusion boasts high acidity but no tannins. I’m guessing the apples involved are eating varieties, though I cannot be sure. 


I had this cider with some some pineapple pizza! Two fun easy things together: both fruity and flavorful.