Cider Review: Vermont Cider Co.'s Addison

I got an exciting package in the mail recently from Vermont Cider Company; they are a new cider brand releasing two ciders only in the northeastern United States (at least for the moment). This is a new brand put out by the owners of Woodchuck and Wyders, but it appears to be aiming for a different style and segment.

Vermont Cider Co. appears to be more active on social media than on a self-owned website. This is certainly the direction of much of the internet these days, so feel free to check these folks out on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/VermontCiderCo/), Twitter(https://twitter.com/VermontCiderCo), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/vermontciderco/?hl=en).

This is how Vermont Cider Co. introduces themselves on Facebook:

Crafted here in the Napa Valley of cider, we are pleased to introduce Vermont Cider Co., a cider brand that stands for everything we love about our home state – beautiful mountains, clean lakes, friendly people, and what we believe to be the best apples in the world. Enjoy our traditional ciders, crafted using only fresh pressed juice from Vermont and other Northern apple growing states.

Today I'm reviewing their first flagship cider, Addison. I found a few snippets of information about it, plenty to help set my own expectations for the beverage. Here's an introduction of sorts from the press release,"Named for Addison County, where it is produced, Addison is crafted from 100 percent fresh pressed juice sourced only from Vermont and Northeastern orchards."

Other facts from material about Addison include that it is a semi-dry cider, fermented slowly at relatively low temperatures, and it does not contain added sugar.

I asked for more information about the apple varieties that go into the Addison, and this is what I found out, "The juice is a combination of standard VT apple varieties including McIntosh, Cortland, Liberty, Paula Red, and Empire." These are United States dessert varietals many of which were grown at Sunrise Orchards, one of the places I stayed on my recent Cider Tour of Vermont.

Back in August, I documented all of that day's adventures in this post: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-great-vermont-cider-tour-day-2.html 

But now, for the cider itself.

Appearance: Bright gold, brilliant a few visible tiny bubbles

I can see some intense color, especially for cider from dessert fruit. There are plenty of tiny visible bubbles. It goes almost without saying that the cider is brilliant. It just shines.

Aromas: cooked fruit, pastry, stone, and dust, 

In addition to the cooked apples, dusty and pastry, I also smell some light notes of tropical fruit. These notes make the cider immediately appealing. Behind these more obvious smells, I can detect some more subtle notes of lemonade and shaved metal. Interesting!

Flavors and drinking experience: clean, caramel, tart, some tannins, and echoes of funk 

The first notes are a tiny bit astringent with a ghost of funk that quickly disappears. There are some good tannins, but I notice more zippy acidity. This cider offers up a clean finish with nice caramel and brown sugar as the last note s(and good ones to end on). Little sips bring out acidity more. I found the cider to have a subtle warming effect. The fruit notes I get are pineapple, lemon, and orange.

Generally, I'd say this cider exhibits a ripeness that so much cider can lack. Relatedly, the acidity doesn't taste green. The Addison is tremendously balanced and it tastes somehow golden. This mouthfeel reflects light carbonation; it's enough to have the feel linger as long as the taste. It isn't light and disappearing; there's body here.

Let's pair this cider. I had it with: curried butternut soup followed by homemade applesauce bread and cheddar cheese when I reviewed it. That was lovely. It went well the the gentle curry spice, the creaminess of coconut milk, and all the savoury and sweet notes that butternut brings to everything. I also paired this cider with feeding dear friends and talking about how we can work to make the world a kinder place. Most ciders go with that.

And don't forget #pickcider for Thanksgiving! Read about my picks here: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/11/pick-cider-for-thanksgiving-and-my.html

And if you're in the Ithaca area, we're doing #ciderMonday on 11/28! https://www.facebook.com/events/251802365234260/

Cider Review: Shacksbury Classic

Autumn is well and truly here, even Halloween has recently come and gone. With the cold nights, my cider cravings tend toward darker and richer flavors. So, I'll be hunting around my cider stores for the beverages that might fit such a desire in the coming weeks and months. This is how I ended up choosing the Shacksbury Original for today's review.

During my trip to Vermont this summer, I had the pleasure of wandering around Windfall Orchard with David Dolginow of Shacksbury Ciders. You can take a look here:

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-great-vermont-cider-tour-day-3.html

As far as learning about Shacksbury from the website, I think the most direct way is to let these folks describe themselves.

Far from ordinary, apples are the most diverse food plant on earth. Unfortunately, only a handful of varieties are cultivated at scale in America, and all of those are designed for eating, not cider making. 

At Shacksbury, we believe cider can, and should, be daring and complex. From gnarled trees on New England farmsteads to Old World orchards in England and Spain, our cider will change the way you think about this amazing fruit.

Find out more at the website: http://www.shacksbury.com

Let me just take a moment to appreciate the crisp and lovely photography on the website. It takes time and effort to share high quality photos like these, but what a difference it makes!

This official description is presented on the website as a series of bullet points. 

2014 CLASSIC
Bold, earthy, lightly sparkling, and dry
The best pizza cider, ever
Apple varieties - Browns, Ellis Bitter, Dabinett, Michelin, Jonagold, McIntosh, Empire, Spartan, and Somerset Redstreak
Apples grown by Sunrise Orchards in Cornwall, Vermont and Dragon Orchards in Herefordshire, England
Slow, partial native yeast fermentation in stainless steel and aged for 9-12 months
500ML, 6.0% ABV
Produced and bottled by Shacksbury Cider in Shoreham, Vermont

Based on what I'm reading about the Shacksbury Classic, I expect high tannins, plenty of aroma, good body, and possibly bits of funkiness. The anticipation is real.

Appearance:brilliant, harvest moon, lots of bubbles

This certainly looks more like an English cider in color compared to most of what I see in my glass. This color looks just like a harvest moon low in the sky. The picture reveals a totally brilliant cider with loads of visible bubbles.

Aroma: overripe apples, golden raisins, petrol

Gracious goodness, this has all the richness in aroma I could have asked for. Primarily I smell golden raisins and delightful overripe apples. Secondarily I detect some sappy green freshness, citric acid, petrol, rubber, and steel (!) Totally complex.

Sweetness/dryness: Off dry

This was a little more difficult to parse than usual. Different folks tasting together disagreed on whether this was just off dry but with lots of fruit characteristic or if it was sweeter. The sweet folks argued that the sweet perception was blunted by acidity. I say off dry. If other folks have tried it and want to weigh in, please feel free!

Flavors and drinking experience:high acid, high tannin, UK influenced, mild to medium funk

This cider offers up LOADS of flavor; its very very good. My first surprise is how high acid and high tannin it is—like a high acid UK cider. I taste lots of fruit with the tiniest petrol funk, but really pleasant and understated. Some of the sharpness reminds me of Spanish ciders but none of the volatile acidity. There's plenty of both tropical fruit and lactic acid playing together. This cider has great rich mouthfeel with honey and leather aromas in the finish.

Overall the Shacksbury original is golden and rich. high tannin. It is off-dry, but really drinkers can perceive the sweetness. They really get glorious high tannins, lingering flavor, and depth.

I enjoyed this cider with a warm pecan apple crisp after trick or treaters took every bit of the candy at my house, but I'm sure you could pair it with a lot of other foods and experiences. Because it has so much of  both acid and tannin, I'd let it be the centerpiece and not choose a food that goes heavy on acidity. Let this tasty cider be the star!