Debbie and I went to a wine tasting at Cap N’ Cork (Captain Crunch as Lisa names it) and when we were leaving I noticed they had a hard cider from Oliver Winery in Bloomington, Indiana.
Having just made my own hard cider that I was convinced was the best cider ever made, I couldn’t resist getting a bottle of Oliver’s to compare. Tonight I chilled a bottle of mine and the Oliver hard cider to compare them.
Well, Oliver clearly wins the packaging contest. Even considering my attractive labels as shown here,
Oliver’s cool aluminum[1] bottle beats me hands down. Debbie, perhaps feeling sorry for me, said she’d start hand-painting my bottles.
But I don’t care about pretty bottles. I’m all about function over form. My cider on the left is clearly less clear than the Oliver cider. It’s also, although you can’t tell from the picture, much more fizzy. I like my more cloudy product, it looks richer and fuller.
And that’s pretty much what the taste came down to. Mine tastes earthy and full and rich. The Oliver is tastes bright and clear and sharp. Mine is like beer, and theirs is like wine. Even though they’re close to the same in alcohol by volume, they also drink like beer and wine. My goes down like beer, smooth and easy. The Oliver cider goes down like wine, by the time you get to the end of the bottle, it’s tasting very dry.
Both Oliver’s hard cider and mine are splendid, different, but each wonderful in their own way. Oliver hard cider is widely available, at least if you live in Indiana. Mine is only available here at Skunk Hill, and not for sale. But if you stop by I’ll be happy to pour you one.
1. I spelled ‘aluminum’ right on the first try without using the spellchecker. I’m so proud of myself!
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