She laughed and pulled a tap handle carved from a thick branch. "Try the 'High Desert.' No added sugar, aged in bourbon barrels for three months."
Elias tossed his work gloves into the truck bed. Twenty minutes later, he was pulling down a gravel driveway lined with heavy-limbed trees. The air here smelled like bruised fruit and damp earth. Inside the tasting room, a woman in a flannel shirt stood behind a copper-topped bar.
He walked out with two chilled four-packs and a map of the orchard. The big stores had the convenience, but the source had the soul. As he drove home, the sun dipping low and red behind the hills, he knew exactly where he’d be buying his cider from now on. hard cider where to buy
"Looking for a specific profile?" she asked, already reaching for a glass.
The liquid was pale gold and sparked against the glass. Elias took a sip. It was crisp, slightly effervescent, and carried a faint whisper of vanilla from the wood. It was exactly what his afternoon required. She laughed and pulled a tap handle carved
But a new pin caught his eye: 'Black Creek Cidery.' It was a small tasting room attached to an orchard just ten miles north.
"Dry," Elias said. "Bone dry. Like biting into a Granny Smith in a basement." The air here smelled like bruised fruit and damp earth
The screen bloomed with pins. There was 'The Apple Core,' a boutique bottle shop downtown known for importing dry Spanish sidra and heavy-hitting French varieties. Then there was 'Oak & Vine,' the big-box retailer three towns over that definitely had the commercial six-packs of Angry Orchard or Woodchuck if he wanted to play it safe.
