Ciderboys First Press Traditional Hard Cider

**Aroma:** “Light and bright on the nose with hints of red and green apple, moderate pear and pineapple, and a light lavender perfume. A touch of cooked apple adds a darker note.” **Flavor:** “Strong white grape flavors with red apple skin astringency and some green apple tartness in the finish. Strong acidity and moderately high carbonation with a very light lingering sweetness. Fairly dry with nice apple depth and maybe a hint of spicy phenol in there, too—a very light wine-like bite.” **Overall:** “An aggressive, tannic and tart cider with a touch of sweet-tart-like flavor tinged with strong green apple. Would pair well with a more luscious triple crème cheese or chocolate truffle. After a few sips the acidity becomes less noticeable, and the individual flavors come to the forefront. It’s not overly complex, and a crisper finish wouldn’t hurt, but it has an interesting apple character with enough depth to appeal to discerning drinkers without offending less-experienced palates.”

**Aroma:** “Huge green apple, sweet fruit notes up front, without much else coming through. Buttery with some earthy character. A perry-ish aroma of white wine and cider apples. Light hint of doughy sweetness and burnt sugar.” **Flavor:** “Sweet candy-like flavor. Buttery and wine- or cider-like with green-apple notes. Ginger, lime, and pears. Low hops bitterness and no noticeable hops flavor. Tart and finishes slightly sweet with high carbonation. Very light body, with a grainy soda-like sweetness.” **Overall:** “The light sweetness, bitterness, and carbonation all come together in a very good balance to make this very drinkable. The tartness and sweetness in the finish provide a nice balance at the end. Tastes remarkably similar to an apple cider, with a bit more astringency and a bit more tartness. There is a musty burnt-butter thing, paired with the apple that is pleasant andcertainlydifferent.”

**Aroma:** “Raw apple juice and sweet apple-blossom notes on the nose are backed up with light peach/almond, red caramel apple, plum, cotton candy, and red wine notes.” **Flavor:** “Red Delicious abounds. There’s a noticeable alcohol heat and nice tart acidity. Simple apple sweetness isn’t cloying, and the esters really push through—grape, peach, a little pine- apple. Light marzipan with a moderate tartness to balance, but definitely leans sweet. A touch of oaky astringency adds depth and interest. Finishes soft with a very mild touch of alcohol. Strong carbonation is very effervescent.” **Overall:** “Sweet and fairly simple apple with an interesting fermentation charac- ter and complexity from layers of apple and dark fruits expressing throughout. Tannic red wine-like character is a very pleasant counterpoint to the red apple character.”