"Semi-dry. Scotch character. Smokey cinnamon. Clove and vanilla. Extra smooth finish. Perfect at 45 deg. Schilling oak aged."
I like to mix things up. Beer, wine, cider, spirits, I'm all over the place. Today I had a beer. Yesterday I had gin with cranberry juice. The day before I had wine. Before that, beer. Since I like to rotate, I usually get the urge to have a hard cider. Today wasn't that day, but that day did occur sometime last week. Schilling is a new brewery to me (http://www.schillingcider.com), but apparently they are from Washington and I'm glad that their stuff is getting distributed out to the east coast.
The beer was poured into a Guinness pint, served somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 degrees as recommended. Clear yellow color, decent carbonation. Aromas of apple, honey, oak.
Much of the nose is in the taste, with a touch of sweetness and the wood lingering in the aftertaste. The can advertises scotch, cinnamon, clove. I could pick up the scotch but the spices weren't quite there. Not overly complex, nor is it meant to be in my opinion. Finish is a touch on the tart side. Light bodied with medium carbonation.
I wasn't sure how I felt about this cider initially. I've only had so many ciders that went through the barrel process and they were excellent. I knew from the get-go that I like the combination, and I liked this one. I'm curious to see how much better it could get if the brewery decided to try and get creative with their offerings. That said, for one of their standard bearers, this one is solid.
Grade: B
Price Paid: 2.09 (12 oz can)
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