Medium bodied mouthfeel with balanced, layered tanninsFruity and full-bodied, the Traditional Cider pairs well with strongly flavored foods, among them deep-fried Chinese-style whole fish in black bean sauce with garlic, ginger, and plenty of chilis ribeye steaks-well marbled, well salted and charcoal-grilled to a juicy medium rare or a colorful antipasto plate, with crusty bread a meal in itself, including your choice of spicy Italian cured meats, such as prosciutto, pancetta, capicola, soppressata, and guanciale, along with pickled pepperoncini, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, aged Provolone, Gorgonzola, and a chunk of Romano.I gotta tell you guys, this book of mine has taken me on a crazy adventure over the past two months.Dried apple, honey, tangerine zest, and fennel on the palate with a slight bitter finish.Aromas of butterscotch, spice, hay, and a hint of leather.Predominate apple varieties include: Dabinett, Harry Masters Jersey, Chisel Jersey, Reine des Pommes, Brown Snout, Nehou, Porter’s Perfection.Single orchard blend of more than 20 traditional English and French cider apple varieties grown on Vashon Island in Western Washington State.Semi-dry, unfiltered, lightly effervescent traditional heritage cider.Their colleague Stephen Buffington joined us for a cider tasting of the varieties that we shipped with the box-you'll hear all three of their voices in the tasting clips below.Įach tasting can be heard from this page, wherever you see the Soundcloud 'play' button, and they're also available in their entirety on Soundcloud. You will need either the Soundcloud app for Android or iOS or Adobe Flash installed on your smartphone or web browser. In October we shipped an assortment of Dragon's Head cider, curated by cidermakers Laura and Wes Cherry, from their orchard and cidery on Vashon Island. This regional resemblance has informed many of the Cherrys' growing decisions, including the grafting of the renowned Kingston Black. The Dragon’s Head orchard-named for the dragon of Greek mythology who guards Hera's golden apples of immortality-is planted squarely within Washington State’s only AVA, or American Viticultural Area, and it bears an uncanny climatic resemblance to Somerset in England where some of the world's best cider apples are grown. Growers have long prized the growing conditions on Vashon where the surrounding saline waters of the Puget Sound impose cool rainy winters and warm, dry summers that rarely swing to extremes in either direction. There are no bridges connecting this small island to the mainland. Vashon Island is only accessible from nearby West Seattle and Tacoma via a brief ferry ride-there’s no other way to get here. They fresh press this uniquely suited fruit, along with additional fruit of exacting standards acquired from nearby family farms, to ferment and blend a cider that fully captures and conveys the aromas and flavors of this singular place in the Pacific Northwest. Cidermakers Wes and Laura Cherry grow 75 varieties of French and English cider apples and pears in the distinctive microclimate of Vashon Island to make their award winning Dragon’s Head Cider.

Island thyme vashon island