What do you get when you put a whole bunch of bittersweet apples into a rum barrel for six months? You get the new, semi-sweet Austin Eastciders Rum Barrel-Aged Cider, a complex, crisp drink that has notes of oak and vanilla with undertones of molasses. It’s like having a granny smith hot apple cider, but you can drink it on those cjilly “winter” days in ATX, when temps slip down below the ‘70s.
These apples weren’t aged in just any rum barrels, though. These vessels were previously used to age Austin’s Treaty Oak Rum, which resulted in a slightly tart finish. Treaty Oak Rum is made in small batches and has tasting notes of dark chocolate and vanilla bean, and finishes with a crisp hint of green apple. These flavors from the rum are apparent in the cider.
“Barrel-aging cider in the oak barrels of other spirits – in this case, Treaty Oak Rum – gives it a completely unique flavor. As a craft cider maker, we strive to produce quality product and love to experiment with our limited-release ciders. Both fans of our cider and fans of Treaty Oak Rum will enjoy this release,” Dave Rule, Austin Eastciders Vice President of Marketing, said.
The base for the rum barrel-aged cider is Austin Eastciders Original Cider, which is made the traditional way, using white wine yeast and real cider apples sourced from Europe. Unlike culinary apples, cider apples are full of tannins that create astringency and a much more complex flavor profile. Austin Eastciders marries cider apples with apples from Washington State for a perfectly balanced cider that’s dry, clean, crisp, and refreshing. Austin Eastciders Barrel-Aged Rum Cider is 6.9% ABV.
If you like your ciders with a little more bite in them, you can find this limited edition drink (only 160 slim kegs were made, with distribution limited to four cities in Texas, New York City, and Philadelphia) at B.D Riley’s Pub, Black Sheep Lodge, Eureka Burger, Haymaker, Central Market North, Loop and Lil’s Pizza (Lockhart), Pinthouse Pizza, Porter-Ale House, Red’s Porch, Sean Patrick’s (San Marcos), Violet Crown Cinema, and Zelicks Ale House (San Marcos). The cider was released on January 25, and all locations should have their kegs tapped by this weekend.
Featured photo by Julia Keim, courtesy Austin Eastciders
