J.K.'s Scrumpy Hard Cider

Quite possibly one of my favorite ripe apple hard ciders around! Living in Eastern Washington, I've come to understand and appreciate apples and cherries. My wife and I live on a couple acres of apple, cherry, pear and walnut trees. Every July, we can step outside and pick the Bings, Rainiers and Sweets off the trees and simply pop them in our mouths as we trek from tree to tree. In September, we do the same thing for a few days with the apple and pear trees.

A few years ago, one of my wine and beer reps brought me a few apple ciders. I have had ciders in my past, but mostly dry monsters from northern France or western Belgium. When I tasted this and he told me it was from Michigan, I looked at him with a surprised face! I had no clue Michigan could grow such great apples, hence making such juicy cider. I learned something new. Drink more domestic ciders.

This cider is literally like taking a bite from a fresh, ripe, juicy Gala apple. Except for the kick, that's what you've got. It smells like sticking your face in  a paper bag full of apples. The mouth-feel is long, mouth-watering and flat-out in your face. This is a complete opposite of what I was used to from western Europe. This cider opened up my eyes to other ciders around North America. It's my platform to ripe, juicy ciders. Awesome!! AP Rating: 91 points - 6/18/2015