6 Cider Pros’ Thanksgiving Drink Recs and Dream Guests

No matter how you celebrate, Thanksgiving revolves around two things: the people you love and, possibly more importantly, the food. We asked a few cider pros to use their imagination and think of who they’d want at their holiday dinner table from the food/drink world and what they’d be drinking with them if they could, from Thanksgiving cider to locally crafted gin.

Brad Page | Owner of Colorado Cider Co. | Denver
Page strategically said he’d invite the Leopold Brothers, a family-owned and-operated distillery in Denver, because he’d “expect them to bring my favorite gin that they make,” he says. He’d also ask Tom Dargen of Gordon Biersch Brewery to join him with his maibock (German amber lager) and Farnum Hill Cider‘s Steve Wood to help him drink the gin. “Maybe I should ask them to bring more than one bottle… three?”

Will Correll | Founder of Buskey Cider | Richmond, VA
Correll’s ideal guest is a nod to his roots. “I spent my high school years in Memphis, Tennessee, and it would be a dream come true to have a dry-rub rack of ribs at Thanksgiving with the late Charlie Vergos – RIP — of Rendezvous Barbecue.” And to represent the other town he loves, Correll says they’d be drinking some of his own RVA cider.  

Ozzie Gundogdu | Partner at Upcider | San Francisco
“Since we are talking about Thanksgiving which calls for friends and family — and as being in the industry for over 20 years I can not value enough the people working real hard to bring cider and food to our table, these people are the real rockstars of the industry — I couldn’t be happier to share a table with these silent heroes.”

As for what they’d be drinking, Gundogdu says they’d be enjoying some of the cider fresh from the orchard, ideally a Basque-style cider. And, for him, the pumpkin pie would be paired with a freshly pressed sweet cider.

Rick Hastings | Head Cidermaker at Liberty Cider | Spokane, WA
Hastings would want fellow cider enthusiast, expert and regular Cidercraft contributor Darlene Hayes at his table, who he describes as “a lovely individual, with an inquisitive mind and deep passion for cider and, because we share an interest in helping elevate cider in America, expressing our own place and culture just as done in regions like Brittany, Somerset and Asturias.” Hasting says they’d be pouring a cider made with North American apple varietals. “I know she’s a fan of at least two such apples we love at Liberty: Newtown Pippins and Golden Russets.”

Andy Crown Brennan | Founder of Aaron Burr Cidery | Wurtsboro, NY
Brennan would want to share a meal with one of his idols, writer and conservationist Wendell Berry. “I’d pour him something from our Homestead Locational cider series, [like] the Sullivan County magnum. Berry doesn’t know it but he’s been my mentor for decades, and, boy, would I like to thank him! Giving me strength to see past short-term farm and business temptations, he’s inspired me to make a product that I believe represents being ‘one with my place.”

Maureen Montgomery | Sales Manager of Common Cider Co. | Auburn, CA
“I enjoyed listening to Lynn Rossetto Kasper when she hosted The Splendid Table on NPR Sunday afternoons,” Montgomery says. “She could pull flavors together on the air that sounded fantastic. I think she would be drinking any of our ciders during Thanksgiving dinner but would gravitate towards our Blackberry Sangria due to its berry jammy-ness and red wine overtones pairing nicely with gamey turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce.”