Angry Orchard had drawn on some legendary cocktails and some Hudson Valley legends for its new quartet of Tall Tails ciders, available at the Cider House in Walden, New York, and for purchase online.
“We”™re especially excited about the launch of this cider series, because not only is it made with Hudson Valley apples, but it”™s also infused with Hudson Valley mythology,” Joe Gaynor, head cidermaker at Angry Orchard, said in a statement. “The series highlights the versatility of cider and our very own Cider House, and we can”™t wait for current and future fans of cider to discover something new to enjoy.”
The Tall Tails series is a slight departure from the brand”™s classic cider creations. Like liquor-based drinks, each Tall Tail can be gussied up with tonic and bitters and classified as a “ready to drink” cocktail. But despite its cocktail look and feel, the series remains a line of hard ciders.
“With Tall Tails, we wanted to see what lines we could blur between ciders and cocktails,” Gaynor added. “Cider doesn”™t have to be simple, and this series is a fun yet inventive reflection of the possibilities for innovation in the cider category.”
Each cider in the series varies in flavor and fictional story. Inspired by the Stone Fence cocktail, the Old Growth cider features notes of brandy, rum and overcooked apples, a testament to the Balmville Tree legend. With spiritus and floral aromatics and an ABV (Alcohol By Volume) of 15.56%, Old Growth is designed for a late summer evening.
Lightest of the bunch is the Ichabod Spritzer, inspired by a Perry Spritzer, with an ABV of 8.0%. Emulating one of the Hudson Valley”™s most loved ghost stories with autumnal notes of pear and apple, the Ichabod Spritzer is named for Ichabod Crane, the protagonist of Washington Irving”™s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
Rounding out the series are the Long Nap and Mountain Lights ciders, whose muses are the Old Fashioned and Elderberry Blossom cocktails respectively. Long Nap has an ABV of 11.34% and pays tribute to Irving”™s sleepy Rip Van Winkle, while Mountain Lights has a similar ABV (11.75%) and nods to the old sailors”™ legend of Storm King Mountain, just south of Cornwall-on-Hudson, where the sight of fireflies was said to mean spirits were afoot.
The ciders are available for purchase in bottles to-go at $35 per bottle, or on draft for on-premises consumption at the Cider House. The series is also available for shipping direct to consumers through VinoShipper in New York but not Connecticut.
