
Cider Grown: New England
February 20, 2018
DoubleCider Subscription Box: January
February 27, 2018This past weekend at The Gathering was nothing short of a great time. Our East Coast Cider Seeker, Julia, attended the first session with friends and already can’t wait for next year’s event! The Gathering was our first, and certainly not last, time visiting the Nine Pin facility in Albany, NY. They have a beautiful tasting room with eclectic artwork and décor, which we were able to experience briefly while we waited in line to enter. The event itself took place on the production floor of the cidery. This was a large garage-like room filled with stainless steel tanks all named after the 7 Dwarfs from Snow White.
There were 17 total New York Farm Cideries in attendance this year, each with their own tables set up around the perimeter of the production floor. There were many cideries that we had never heard of or come across before, which made the day that much more special to us over at CiderScene. We are proud to say that we were successfully able to visit each cidery in attendance for the day! We made some new connections and reconnected with some old friends as well.
Among the first of the ciders, we tried on Saturday was Kaneb Orchards’ Cranberry Crisp, a medium-sweet cider blended with 100% cranberry juice from local berries. It was a translucent deep red in color, and a perfect blend of tart and sweet to begin the day! Kaneb Orchards is located in Northern New York, in a town called Massena, just minutes from the Canadian border.
We were also fortunate enough to make it over to Awestruck Cider’s booth early in the day before they sold out! We all tried their Lavender Hops (I mean, come on…lavender cider!? You’ve gotta try it!), as well as their Hibiscus Ginger, which was definitely a hit! This cider was lightly rose-tinted due to the natural coloring provided by steeping dried hibiscus calyces. It had a light floral note and a more noticeable refreshing zing provided by the fresh ginger root. Awestruck Cider is located in Sidney, NY, which, to our knowledge, is in the southern/ middle-ish part of New York.
One of the cideries on our list to visit was Graft, out of Newburgh, NY. Graft is popular for their sour and gose ciders, offering a bit of a different twist to more traditional cider styles, as well as their wild can designs (see their award here). We stopped by to meet one of the production guys and, of course, to try some delicious cider. Our favorite from their table would have to have been Where Secrets Lie, a wild yeast fermented cider, aged on lavender, hibiscus, and pink sea salt. Graft Cider is located in Newburgh, NY, nearby the Hudson River.
Blue Toad Cider was a popular destination for the day. They had many offerings, two of which we had to return for multiple tastings of, Winterfest, and ROC HARD Peach Amber. Winterfest is, obviously, Blue Toad’s winter cider, and is based on their award-winning ROC HARD Amber with notes of cinnamon, caramel, and cranberry. ROC HARD Peach Amber is a twist on their ROC HARD Amber, a blend of locally grown tannic apples with the addition of peach for some sweetness and all-around delicious flavor. Blue Toad is a proud maker of farm-to-table ciders in both Western New York and Nelson County Virginia, so even if you aren’t located “up north” you can still get a taste for what this company has to offer!
Last, but certainly not least, are our new friends from Bad Seed Cider. We got to talk with each of the co-owners who were super friendly and very generous. Our favorite from their booth was their Maple and Mulled, which, of course, sold out before we could make it back to purchase a growler. It was sweet, but not overly so, with a very recognizable maple flavor. Honestly, this was probably the best maple cider I’ve ever tried! We tried a few other samples from them as well and enjoyed them nearly as much as the maple. We were fortunate enough to walk out with a bottle of their Apple Pie Cider and their Rum Barrel Aged Cider, so keep your eyes peeled for more on those! Bad Seed is located in Highland, New York, in the Hudson River Valley and has recently opened a second tap room in Brooklyn, NY, the first ever in the city. Thanks to the New York Farm Cidery License, cideries can open up to five satellite taprooms throughout the state.
Finally, we’d like to congratulate the New York Cider Company on receiving their New York Farm Cidery License and not only attending their first ever event but selling their first bottle! Best of luck as they begin their journey in this awesome industry! We tried all three of their ciders, plus a fourth that is still being conditioned and was being offered on tap!