Georgia may be renowned for its peaches, but the state’s Treehorn Cider is teaching the southern “Peach State” a little something about apples, too.
Launched at the tail end of 2015, the Atlanta-based cidery was born out of Ciderist Andrew Wheeler’s love for the craft beverage industry. “Initially we flew by the seat of our pants,” remembers Wheeler. “Then we buckled down, did some research, got into a cider making class and figured out how to do it properly.”
Turns out that what Treehorn has been up to is more than proper – it’s unique. Aside from successful endeavors with their flagship dry cider, ginger cider and upcoming hop cider, the cidery concocts recipes from a background in mixology.
“We do a lot of mixology. One of our partners is a mixologist here in town so he’s helped us out,” explains Wheeler. Some of his cocktail creations include mixing bourbon with cider and peach-infused tequila with cider. The results are nothing you would have ever thought of and yet, everything you might have dreamed of.
All fabulous apple cider-based cocktails aside, peach fans mustn’t fret: the cidermaker in Wheeler does indeed plan to craft a crowd-pleasing peach cider, noting that “it would only make sense to do that; there’s a great orchard here that produces phenomenal peaches.” We can keep our eyes (and mouths) out for the peach number this summer, when the golden fruit comes into play.
Currently, Treehorn sources the majority of their fruit from orchards in Northern Georgia; a small amount of apples also comes from North Carolina to accommodate for climate and to achieve a satisfactory blend of fruit.
So far, the cidery has received positive feedback from the state’s craft beverage patrons and is currently in 80 bars on rotating taps. The next step? Wheeler explains that the cidery aims to be canning their ciders by summertime, which would be a huge yet accessible step.
“Luckily for us the craft beer scene is pretty strong and there are some good mobile canning services around that serve some of the smaller breweries,” explains Wheeler of the canning system.
If canning is the next step, a tasting room and wider distribution may be on the horizon for Treehorn Cider. That said, there’s no better excuse to get on over to Georgia than to indulge in the craft bevvy scene that has opened its doors to the trendsetting cidery.
