The usual suspects in seasonal baking — think cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger and star anise — are as well suited to cider as they are to apple pie. When Left Foot Charley cidermaker Bryan Ulbrich saw craft brewers adding everything from chocolate to pigs’ heads to their beers in 2008, he was inspired to start making some spiced additions to his cider. But he wanted subtlety to rule the day. Hence, Cinnamon Girl was born, a cinnamon-spiced blend of Northern Spy, Golden Delicious and Ida Red apples that outsells the Michigan cidery’s other, drier products three or four times over, year-round. Don’t think Red Hots candy or Fireball whisky — Ulbrich uses a delicate touch with Sumatran Korjinte cinnamon and an even lighter hand with potent Vietnamese cinnamon for its aromatics, creating a mellow combination.
