1) Woodchuck Fall Cider (with added spice)
2) Woodchuck Winter Cider (flavored with French and American oak)
ABV
1) 5%
2) 5%
Color
1) Dark Amber
2) Copper
Nose
1) Sweet, pumpkin spice: allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon
2) Pungent, sourdough bread, effervescent
On the Palate
1) Fairly heavy mouthfeel. Very sweet, like pumpkin bread. Very little apple coming through.
2) Light apple flavor, dark sweetness, drier than most Woodchuck. A surprising amount of wood, with a very faint hint of vanilla
Finish
1) Cloying, sweet fairly short.
2) Still short, but dry and lightly sweet.
Parting words
I really didn’t care too much for the fall Woodchuck. It was too sweet and too heavily spiced. The winter edition was much better. The addition of the wood adds an extra dimension to the latter that makes it very much worth trying. The fact that wood barrels are not mentioned on the label, only that French and American oak was used, leads me to believe that it was flavored with wood chips, not in barrels. So what do you say, Woodchuckers? How about a bourbon barrel Woodchuck sometime in the future?
Sipology 