Ellis Bitter. (bittersweet; leather, ripe apple skins, bacon)
Ripening in early September, Ellis Bitter is our main early season bittersweet. Heavenly sweet, ripe aromas backed by solid tannins. The tree is biennial in our organic production system, but when it crops it crops heavily with medium-sized fruit that drops in stages. We make multiple pickings of this variety for the best quality juice. In most years the fruit holds well on the ground if it has a nice mown sod to fall onto.
Porter’s Perfection (Intensely fruity, fresh, petrol, bright acid)
We are pretty excited about how this apple (often identifiable by its fused fruits) seems to express petrol and mineral characteristics on our Van Etten site. This apple also has BSA aromas, as well as a bright fresh acid. Porter’s makes a exceptional single variety cider that is both bright and fruity and dense and minerially. One of our favorite apples.
Stoke Red (Early fruity acid and tannin)
This strongly biannual bittersharp has a lovely bright-fruit characteristic.
“Kingston Black. (Elusive, exceptional)
Many folks have given up on Kingston Black. For all the hype about it being the best single variety cider, the tree is difficult to grow—lots of blind wood, slow to come into bearing, small apples, low yields, biennial. The cider, too, can be a challenge to make. The tannins can be bitter, the flavors centering around tobacco and bittersweet apple. But grown well and made well, Kingston Black cider can be revelatory: a seamless balance between tannin and acid, savory and sweet, refreshing and satisfying.”