Word: ciders
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Back in the days when Ida was sweet as apple cider, the reference was not to the sweet juice but to the gently fizzed hard stuff--about 6% to 8% alcohol, refreshing and delicious. That's right. Forget beer; from colonial times to the early 20th century, hard cider was the American buzz of choice. Thanks largely to the efforts of Judith and Terry Maloney, a woodsy, sixtysomething couple, cider has staged a comeback...
...Maloneys' path to cider was accidental. On a road trip in 1972, their car broke down in the sleepy town of Colrain, Mass., near the Vermont border. It was beautiful. They stayed. Terry Maloney, an emergency-room physician, explains that in California, where they had previously lived, they made wine for home consumption. Looking to continue the practice, they soon realized that the local fruit was not grape but apple. So they did as the saying--slightly paraphrased--goes: When life hands you an apple, make cider. The Maloneys cleared acreage, planted trees, plunked fermenting tanks in the cellar...
Today production is up to 2,000 cases, and Terry is retired from medicine. The 1,400 trees on their property produce the fruit of traditional cider varieties like Kingston Black, Redfield and Dabinett. Cider apples can be gorgeously ugly and highly tannic, with a blistering bitterness. In fermentation, those qualities help make a complex, food-friendly thirst quencher. In fact, cider is so food friendly that you'll find it on some pretty flashy wine lists, such as those of Gramercy Tavern in New York City and Wildwood Restaurant in Portland, Ore., as well as at more casual spots...
When the Maloneys started West County, it was the only hard-cider maker in North America; there are now about 60. Why the interest? Judith cites the current love affair with food that is local, authentic and artisanal. Cider bottles do tend to stay close to home because of limited supplies, so if you live in St. Louis, it will be difficult to find a cider from Massachusetts at your local wine store. But because of changing shipping laws, it will be easier than ever to get ciders by mail. And since most cider sells...
...course, I should have known better. “Taxi Driver” had about nine rewrites before it was completed. John Irving took 12 years to write the screenplay for the adaptation of his own book, “The Cider House Rules.” But somehow I assumed I wouldn’t face the same obstacles...