Spirit Tree – Winter Bliss

Cider Profile:

Name: Spirit Tree – Winter Bliss
Sampled January 2021

Brand:  Spirit Tree Estate Cidery Type: Flavoured – Mixed Location of Brewing: Caledon, ON ABV: 6.5% Website Link: spirittreecider.com Ingredients: N/A Gluten Free: N/A Sugar Content: N/A Size(s) available: 473ml (can) Availability: Spirit Tree online and retail store Flavour: Apple, maple syrup, molasses, orange peel Colour: Translucent, dark golden-yellow Carbonation: Infrequently streaming small bubbles

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Cider Crate Tasting Notes:

Smell: Strong aroma. Sweet and thick fortified-like apple. Some maple syrup notes.
Initial Taste: Light bite from carbonation. Thick, syrupy, crisp apple taste that’s similar to an iced cider. Semi-sweet apple notes. Mild maple and earthy elements.
After Taste:  Cleans out somewhat quickly without much residual notes.  Some darker sugar elements, including the molasses, appear briefly. Almost a gummy aftertaste, possibly from the orange peel.
On ice: Carbonation reduced. Little other change.

Additional Notes:  The Winter Bliss by Spirit Tree is a thicker cider, elements similar to that of an iced cider without the astringency and harshness. It’s a semi-sweet apple taste that matches the dark golden colour. Quite clean (little fermentation or alcohol notes) with a little bit of a brown sugar/maple syrup/molasses finish.  Not much orange noticeable other than a possible gummied taste near the finish. A rustic cider with a farmhouse essence. Stands out, unlike any other Ontario craft cider we’ve had.

Rated on a scale of 1-5
Sweet – 4
Sour – 2
Crisp – 4.5
Dry – 2
Fruity – 4 

Next recommendations:
More Sweet – 
More Sour – Ernest – Winter’s Blush
More Dry – Heartwood – Wassail
More Crisp – 

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