Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Squid Mixes: The D-Day Swizzle Chronicles

It's been a while since I've done one of these, mostly because of a delightfully crowded liquor cabinet.  But for this one, at least in the beginning, it'll be more a matter of fridge space...

One of our recent favorite cocktails is the D-Day Swizzle.  The most prominent flavor player is the cider so that is where our exploration begins.  At least in the beginning, I intend to limit our scope to Vermont-produced cider.  Delightfully, that gives us plenty of high-quality options to choose from.  First up...



Lo-Ball 16 oz. "Tall Boy" vs. Woodchuck Rosé

Woodchuck Cider, based in Middlebury, is the granddaddy of Vermont's mass-marketed cider industry, in operation since 1991.  The Rosé incorporates purple carrots for color.  The Lo-Ball "Tall Boy" is a collaboration between Shacksbury, a cidery based in Vergennes, and WhistlePig, a whiskey distillery in Shoreham.  It's advertised as a "barrel-aged highball cider."  

First we tried the ciders on their own...

Neither was especially appley.  The Tall Boy was drier.  I was hoping for more whiskey hints from the barrels but they weren't there.  The Rosé had more of a cherry flavor.

Winner and Current Champion, Sipping Cider Category: Woodchuck Rosé

In the cocktail, however, it was a different story.  We both preferred the Tall Boy.  With less sugar, the other ingredients featured better.

Winner and Current Champion, Swizzle Mixer Category: Lo-Ball 16 oz. "Tall Boy"

3 comments:

  1. I have never heard of these. I like the name Woodchuck Rose. I once had a dream where I was in the backyard of a friend of mine with my back against the house. I was very hungry and then I looked down and saw I had paws and a furry body. I was ecstatic because I was a woodchuck! I rubbed my belly and wondered when my friend was going to throw me some peanuts. Yes, this is an actual dream.

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  2. I'm not a fan of rose. Either in wine form or in cider form.
    I'm really not much of a cider drinker, though I do keep a particular pineapple cider on hand for fizzy pina colada drinks in the summer.

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    1. I have to admit cider isn't my usual go to either, or even my usual Plan B or C. But we do truly like the swizzles and I am genuinely curious enough about the local product for an exploration. We'll see how long it lasts.

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