Maker: Uncle Johns, St. Johns, Michigan, USA
Apples: Golden Russet, Razor Russet, Knobby Russet and Baldwin.
ABV: 6.5%
Price: $13 (Binny’s)
Note: At the time of purchase, I received a complimentary bottle of this and of Uncle John’s Apple Brandy.
Appearance: Medium gold. Persistently effervescent.
Nose: Cut apple core, sweet cinnamon, old oak, green cardamom.
Palate: Medium dry and chewy. Apple juice, big tannin, tart cherry juice, seasoned lumber.
Finish: Dry, bitter tannins that linger in the cheeks.
Parting words: My visit to Uncle John’s Fruit House Winery & Cider Mill is chronicled here. This is the second of Uncle John’s premium ciders I’ve taken notes on for this blog. The first one I took notes on was Melded, a delicious blend of American, British and French cider apples. That one had tannins and minerals but on a bed of citrus. It was very food friendly and refreshing. I planned on highly recommending it, but I lost those notes due to poorly designed word processing software. I’ve begun handwriting notes so that doesn’t happen to me again.
Russet is different from Melded. There’s plenty of fruit here but it’s all apple and it’s
wrapped in a chewy, tannic package. It works well with food too, but the tannins are leading the charge here with fruit and acid playing backup. It’s a very good cider and leaves me excited to try the rest of the premium line that I have haunting my cellar.Uncle John’s Russet Hard Apple Cider is highly recommended.
Knobby Russet photo by Leslie Seaton from Seattle, WA, USA – Knobby Russet, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33881166
Sipology 