^5 Cider Your Princess is in Another Castle

First things first: ^5 is pronounced “high five.” The nano cidery — based in Portland, Oregon — keeps it weird like its city is known for, with each limited production cider it makes donning an equally exclusive name. Such is the case with Your Princess is in Another Castle, a barrel-aged sour peach cider. In a proud feminist nod to the male dominant beverage industry (and also a Super Mario Bros. reference, or possibly the other way around), cidermaker and owner Shannon Mosley produces this small-batch cider alongside her sister, merging fresh-pressed juice from dessert apples with peach juice in primary fermentation, instead of after.

Tangy, sour and dusty with apple skin, slightly herbaceous aromas hint at peach and leaves, making the cider reminiscent more of a Spanish sidra before it hits the palate. The light-bodied sip builds more on the peach and lemon curd flavors with initial tastes, while sour strips of acid peel away to reveal soft apple and oak texture in the finish.