Staff Picks: Erik's Favorite Ciders Right Now (6-Pack)
Staff Picks: Erik's Favorite Ciders Right Now (6-Pack)
A mix of some of my favorite ciders that we've recently brought into the shop. This current bundle features 6 ciders, mostly on the dry side, with apple-forward flavor profiles. A couple rare gems and very limited releases from some of my favorite cider makers.
Pssst: The 12-bottle bundle includes both my picks and Storie's current staff picks and comes at an even bigger discount (basically a free cider if you buy both bundles).
1. Alpenfire Cider's Pet Nat (750 mL): A single-varietal Harrison cider, bottled prior to the complete of fermentation in the traditional Pét Nat method. The latest release from Alpenfire (newly available April 2024) is one of our favorite ciders from them (one of our favorite cideries!). Pure apple profile, pleasantly dry and tannic with nice supporting acid. Delightful - don't miss this limited batch release.
2. Dragon's Head Cider's Kingston Black SV (750 mL): A classic, clean fermentation profile of the beloved Kingston Black apple. We recently made another trip out to Vashon Island with family and popped several bottles of cider to share, and the K.B. was tasting so fantastic we had to bring a couple more cases home for the shop! Tasting notes of apple, butterscotch, and clove, with pleasant lingering tannins.
3. Renaissance Orchard's Big Blend (500 mL): Renaissance is a hidden gem amongst the Washington cider scene. Tucked away in the NW corner of the state just south of the Canadian border, Chris manages an orchard robust with several traditional French & English bittersweet and bittersharp cider apple varieties. The Big Blend is made with over 200 varieties of apples grown on the orchard. Bold tannins balanced by acidity and carried by some mild sweetness. "Big" has as much to do with the flavor profile as it does with the batch of apple varieties used. Ends with a complex finish that’s common with English-Style farmhouse ciders
4. Botanist & Barrel's Foragers Delight Farmer's Orchard (750 mL): We recently brought in a full pallet of ciders from North Carolina's Botanist & Barrel - including the last two available cases of this beauty. This cider is made from a blend of abandoned apple trees and wild crab apples trees growing locally near B&B's cidery. Spontaneously fermented and bottled Pet Nat, this cider drinks semi-dry with bold yet medium-plus tannins and acidity in harmony; with notes of apple juice, baked pear, candied lemon, and grapefruit peel. The finish is delightful with lingering tannins, lemon zest, and apple skin.
5. Haykin Family Cider's Dolgo Crabapple (375 mL): My first time visiting Haykin cider in the Denver, Colorado area, I was treated to a tasting flight of several incredible ciders. The ciders were such high quality I immediately joined their cIub - even though another cider cIub was the last thing we needed at the time. The Dolgo was my favorite story of my tasting flight. Made with Dolgo crabapples originally planted throughout the Denver metro area for ornamental purposes, Haykin's team collects the apples for use in this cider. Super refreshing.
6. Cameron Winery's Baird Sidra (750 mL): Tucked along the cider trail are wineries making some excellent cider that not enough folks know about. Blessed to have tried many of Cameron Winery's ciders while shopping for bottles at The Place PDX in Portland (must visit cider bar). The Baird Sidra is a blend of mostly Spanish cider apple varieties, but also some classic cider apples like Kingston Black, Dabinett, and Golden Russet. Dry with bold tannins & acidity and notes of green apple, citrusy lemon & lime zest, honeycomb, and some yeast driven phenolics.
- Shipping available across U.S.