Sonoma's Organic Cider: The Anvil (Bourbon) When I find a cider that I like, I'm quick to share it because a) finding a good cider is rare, and b) I want you to know about it. Cider doesn't do it for a lot of people. If you've tried a cider and found it too sweet, light, fruity, or crisp, know that you are in good company. But craft ciders are coming into their own. A couple of weeks ago I thought I had found a one-off cider with the Woodchuck Hopsation that I enthusiastically reviewed here. American ciders tend to be sweet, more akin to apple juice than to dry English and Irish ciders. But now I've discovered another American cider that I can't stop raving about. Sonoma Cider: The Anvil The Anvil was advertised at the local tavern as a "bourbon barrel-aged cider." After that I just couldn't turn it down. If Hopsation appeals to beer drinkers because of its hops, The Anvil is appealing to beer and whiskey drinkers alike because of its thick bourbon overtones. Sonoma describes this beverage as "premium cider spiked with bourbon flavor." And that bourbon is much bolder than I would expect if it was just barrel aged, but it's just 6% alcohol, so whatever they are adding isn't straight whiskey. |
Sonoma Organic Cider: The Anvil
Nose: Sassafras and Jack Daniels.
Taste: Tennessee whiskey in a cider body. The crunchy, hollow texture usually found in a cider is gone- it is overwhelmed and filled by the bourbon notes, followed by Sassafras and a mild sweetness. I tried this alongside a Blackthorn cider; Anvil is darker and heavier, more like a Scottish ale.
Recommendation: Buy and try! This is not the typical cider for cider lovers only. If you like bourbon, if you like bourbon aged beers, you will like this cider.