Windswept – No. 1 Original

Cider Profile:

Name: Windswept – No. 1 Original
Sampled September 2025

Brand: Windswept Type: Apple – Dry Location of Production: Meaford, ON ABV: 8.3% Website Link: windsweptcider.com Ingredients: N/A Gluten Free: Yes Sugar Content: N/A Size(s) available: 750ml (bottle) Availability: Windswept retail and online store Flavour: Apple Colour: Translucent sunflower yellow Carbonation: Mixed streaming bubbles

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Cider Crate Tasting Notes:

Smell: Medium aroma. Tropical notes. Bright apple. Pastry note.
Initial Taste: Minimal bite. Dry, semi-acidic apple. Bittersharp and bittersweet-like notes that are rustic. Hints of funk.Slightly creamy body and flavour.
After Taste: Tropical notes like lychee emerge. A bit of a candied pear note. Apple becomes more fleshy as it leaves the palate. Buttery mouthfeel and flavour here too.
On ice: Cleaner but much less flavourful.

Additional Notes: Windswept No.1 Original is a wild ferment with apples and pears, but you could barely tell with how clean and fruity it is. It starts off with dry, semi-acidic apples that are crisp and forward. It’s a rustic cider at first, that evolves into a brighter, more modern cider in the finish, with some fun tropical fruit-like notes such as lychee. The apple is fleshly at the finish, with some saltiness. Wild pears seemingly add a candied note. Stays in the mouth a while. It’s a clean body and flavour, with only the mildest whispers of funk in the undertones.

Rated on a scale of 1-5
Sweet – 2
Sour – 4
Crisp – 3.5
Dry – 4
Fruity – 4

Next recommendations:
More Sweet – Windmill Ridge – Apple Pear Cider
More Sour – Steel Town – PORRO!
More Dry – Cold Creek – Pear Cider (2024)
More Crisp – Twin Pines – Hammer Bent Traditional Apple Pear

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