By Leesy Latronica
Ah, harvest season… For cider makers, Christmas comes early to the orchards—and for cider drinkers, Christmas comes early to refrigerator shelves and bottle cozies. Blend all the most decadent flavor staples of fall (pumpkin, warm spice and orchard-fresh apples) then ferment, add some sparkle, bottle and cap. Voila: safe to say, pumpkin ciders capture the essence of autumn in bottle form. Pumpkin ale devotees—this is your territory. We’ve rounded up five seasonal offerings from cider makers coast to coast, and pumpkin is playing apple’s costar.
1) Ace Pumpkin Cider (Sebastopol, CA)
ABV: 5 percent
Highlights: The first pumpkin cider to be produced on the West coast is packed with cinnamon, cloves and allspice for a lighter, thirst-quenching alternative to a dense slice of pumpkin pie. Or, enjoy it with your slice for the ultimate fall flavor domination.
2) Seattle Cider Co. Pumpkin Spice Cider (Seattle, WA)
ABV: 6.9 percent
Highlights: Another semi-sweet option from the blossoming Seattle cidery, this time with a seasonal twist. Its flavor profile spotlights pumpkin pie spice, with a hint of pumpkin at the finish for good measure.
3) Doc’s Draft Hard Cider Pumpkin (Warwick, NY)
ABV: 5 percent
Highlights: Classic hard apple spruced up with a blend of roasted pumpkin, classic pie spices and a slight kick of fresh ginger to tie it all together in your glass.
4) Harpoon Brewery Pumpkin Cider (Boston, MA)
ABV: 4.8 percent
Highlights: An especially light ABV option, yet not lacking in slightly sweet and dry pumpkin spice essence. Real pumpkin + freshly pressed Northeastern apples.
5) Tieton Cider Works Smoked Pumpkin Cider (Tieton, WA)
ABV: 6.9 percent
Highlights: Attention smoked porter fans: get your pumpkin fix with a bottle of this limited-release seasonal. Originally released in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Alaska, Texas and Illinois in 2013, this one may take some worthwhile tracking down.
