Last Thursday I attended the first meeting of a newly formed local cider appreciation group. It’s the brainchild of Tandem Ciders Cider Club Manager Danielle Miller with help from Keith Kintigh, who organized a previous informal cider tasting group. That evening a wide range of folks met up: commercial cidermakers, home cidermakers, cidery owners, cellar rats, front-of-house cidery staff, previous cider judges, and simply cider appreciators. The focus is for us to build our knowledge and language around cider, especially geared towards those pursuing an American Cider Association (ACA) Master Sommelier certification, like myself.
Ciders were sourced from the eastern U.S. We tried seven different ciders in a variety of styles and ranging from dry to sweet. The tasting was done blind to keep us from being swayed by knowledge/bias of producers, apple varieties, or styles. A purer experience. ACA tasting notes guides were provided to use as reference and write notes on. I’d brought my notebook with me since I’m studying for the Master Pommelier certification and wanted to keep all my notes in one place for future tastings.
I was surprised by some of the stranger tasting notes and aromas (bubblegum, hot dog, herbal mint). I really enjoyed a couple of them. Below is what we drank & my tasting notes, presented, more or less, in the ACA’s Structured Sensory Analysis format. I only completed summaries for a couple of them since we ended up talking about them more and my note-taking dropped off as we went on. Note: My tasting notes should’t be taken as gospel—I’m a student learning and trying to hone my palate. This is, in part, record keeping for myself.
I’ve included links with each cider to purchase these if you’re interested along with more information from the maker’s websites.
Eve’s Cidery (New York): Albee Hill—Wild ferment, 7% ABV, bottled
Ellis Bitter, Vilberie, Brown Snout, mixed bittersweets
Appearance: medium, straw, clear, still
Aroma: medium+, bruised apple, oak?, herbal
Palate: dry, medium acidity, medium- tannins, medium flavor intensity, low body, medium+ finish, low complexity, funky, vanilla, cherry
An easy-drinking, sessionable, and lightly funky cider. Has a nice, creamy mouthfeel—partial malolactic fermentation?—with some cloudiness to the later pours (unfiltered).
Tidbits from Eve’s Cidery’s website: “beeswax, crunchy peach, wet stone…single orchard field blend…all apples grown on our certified organic Albee Hill orchard…stainless steel and neutral oak.”
It is sold out on their website.
Eden Ciders (Vermont): Brut Nature—8.4% ABV, bottled
Kingston Black, Roxbury Russet, Esopus Spitzenburg, McIntosh, Dabinett, Yarlington Mill, Calville Blanc, Hudson’s Golden Gem, Orleans Reinette, Empire, Black Oxford, Blue Pearmain, Rhode Island Greening, Baldwin
Appearance: pale, straw, clear, petillant
Aroma: light, herbal mint, grassy, funky, acetone, ginger, bubblegum
Palate: dry, medium acidity, medium+ tannins, low flavor intensity, low body, medium finish, low complexity, bubblegum
Interesting nose, but underwhelming palate, not much to day. Was it served too cold? It also may have suffered for coming after the Albee Hill.
Tidbits from Eden Cider’s website: “dried apples, biscuit, citrus, green hay…rested on lees at least 18 months…perfect dinner companion for a wide variety of food.”
You can buy it here.
Farnum Hill (New Hampshire): Extra Dry Cider—7.5% ABV, bottled
Blend
Appearance: pale, straw, clear, petillant
Aroma: medium+, rose, fresh apple, toasty, pineapple, honey, lemon, buttery, black tea
Palate: dry, medium- acidity, low tannins, medium- flavor intensity, low body, long finish, medium+ complexity, floral, herbal, tangerine, hazelnut, ripe cherry, juicy
Nicely balanced. Should be served a bit warmer, room temp. Gained complexity as it was allowed to come up in temperature. I enjoyed coming back to it. One of my favorites of the night. I’ll be picking up some bottles to enjoy this summer.
Tidbits from Farm Hill’s website: “tropical, herbal and mineral…refreshing astringency…long, appetizing finish.”
You can buy it here.
Eden Ciders (Vermont): Wild Kingdom—7.5% ABV, bottled
Blend
Appearance: pale, straw/yellow, clear, petillant
Aroma: pronounced, barnyard, funk, stone, brine, olive, vinegar, hot dog, eggy (H2S—hydrogen sulfide)
Palate: dry, medium+ acidity, low tannins, medium+ flavor intensity, medium body, long finish, medium complexity, caramel, candied apple, acetic acid, lime, zest
I would like to revisit this one. I can get into a funky, stanky cider. Forewarned is forearmed with this one. If you like funk this one is for you!
Tidbits from Eden Cider’s website: “jasmine, lime zest, pear skin, earth…rested on primary lees for 9 months…stainless steel…very textural.”
You can buy it here.
Eve’s Cidery (New York): Darling Creek: 2020—8% ABV, bottled
Blend
Appearance: cloudy, straw, pale, bottle ferment
Aroma: Light, herbal mint, vanilla, honey, body odor, smoke
Palate: dry, medium- acid, low tannins, medium- flavor intensity, low body, medium finish, low complexity, minerality, toasty, creamy, light oak, wet stone
I’d actually had this one before. I sought it out because of the maker. It’s a fine cider, but unmemorable. It didn’t strike me the first time & didn’t this time, either. One of the tasting notes stuck in our craw—“shearling.” We came down that what was being implied was lanolin, an animal-ness.
This release is sold out on their website, but the 2022 version is available. These tidbits are from the new bottling: “sumac berries, popcorn, roses…stainless steel…wild and commercial yeast.”
You can buy it here.
Stormalong (Massachusetts): Boston Heirloom—6.9% ABV, canned
Roxbury Russet & Baldwin (50/50)
Appearance: clear, very pale, very light carbonation
Aroma: Pronounced, pear, tobacco, juicy, cotton, papery
Palate: semi-dry, medium acid, medium- tannin, black tea, pear, peach pit
I was convinced this was a Perry back sweetened with pear juice because it smelled so strongly of pear. Nope, 100% apples. I haven’t had a pure Roxbury Russet cider, but Left Foot Charley has a single-variety Baldwin cider and it’s very crisp and tropical, so that fruity-juiciness must be a varietal characteristic. This was another favorite for me. It’s slightly sweeter than my usual, but would be really nice on a hot summer day.
Tidbits from Stormalong’s website: “bright, crisp & fruit forward…these apples were initially bred in the Boston area in the mid 1700’s…rich acidity…rare apples series.”
You can buy it here.
Artifact Cider Project (Massachusetts): Feels Like Home—5.4% ABV, canned
Unknown
Appearance: clear, straw
Aroma: light, pear, honey, grassy, green pepper
Palate: semi-sweet, low acid, low tannin, low body, low complexity, spicy without the heat, peppery, green, peach, bell pepper, smoky
This was a very strange drinking experience. There was a flavor like a cayenne pepper, the acid and the smokiness, but without the heat. By far this was the sweetest one we drank. They rank it a two out of five. Wouldn’t drink again, though novel.
Tidbits from Artifact Cider Project’s website: “fruity and unfiltered…aged on rum-soaked oak…vibe: late night bonfires.”
You can buy it here.