Elegance isn’t a word often reserved for cider. As the born-again beverage revamps in the Pacific Northwest (and has been in some areas here for more than a decade), cider is reclaiming it’s fame as America’s beverage. (Insert blatant teaser to our upcoming all-cider, all the time magazine, CIDERCRAFT.) Elegance, however, is often a word used when describing the ciders of Chimacum, Wash.,’s Finnriver Farm and Cidery. The darling of Jefferson County on the Olympic Peninsula, the folks at Finnriver are not only organic pioneers and philanthropic luminaries for the cider industry in the Northwest, but they are tastemakers—actively laboring on redefining the beverage.
From the Elijah K. Swan’s Seasonal Botanical line comes the Solstice Saffron cider, which began fermenting on December 21 at the Winter Solstice. Saffron, a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus that offers Middle Eastern spice along with color, is really a supporting cast member in this cider, where local apple takes center stage. Bold, succulent and ripe in apple tones, the saffron enhances the obvious core aromas with anise and fennel spices.
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