Drink your fruit: Esopus Spitzenberg Cider

Cider is not my usual beat. Nor will it be. Nonetheless I enjoy and occasionally write about hard apple cider here. 

Stormalong, a Massachusetts-based cidery, offers a dry glass I've enjoyed in the past, though it is a little skimpy somehow on character.

When I found a four-pack sampler of their heritage ciders at farmers market back in November, I felt I had to try them.

Today's variety is their Esopus Spitzenberg, but the name (besides being fun to say) is a little misleading. The draught is not a single varietal but a blend of many apples, including Esopus.

Nonetheless it's a great name (and apple). I am tickled to be able to include the apple in question in my photo.

Bottom's up

Stormalong's Esopus Spitzenberg is carbonated and froths a good bit before settling down. In the glass it is a golden orange yellow that is quite a lovely color.

The drink has a spicy aroma with a little funk.

For taste, the cider is dry and nicely astringent. There's a distinct cinnamon spiciness that becomes stronger in the finish. 

It has a hint of the complexity one can find in French ciders, though dialed way back. I think that is the tannic quality, but I am not practiced in picking these things out! and am probably missing a few points.

This one smells more assertive than it tastes. It is interesting and expressive, but also smooth and restrained.

My co-taster's reaction: "super smooth."

On its website, Stormalong characterizes its Esopus as having "bright acidity with a smooth tannic finish." The result is a drink that is very well put together. 

The cider is 7.5% alcohol, and includes sulfites, according to the can.

The full roster of apple varieties in this drink comprises Esopus, Calville Blanc, Chisel Jersey, Ribston Pippin, Dabinett, and Golden Russet. These are eating apples (also good for cider) I have sampled, and cider apples I have not.

Esopus rhymes with "Canopus." It is the name of a town, and a river, in New York, from whence the apple came.

For your reference

• Esopus Spitz, the apple
• Esopus Spitz, the glass

Also in the series

• Ashmead's Kernel cider
• Winesap cider
• Yarlington Mill cider