Here's the core of the article enumerating many of the ciders.
It’s a great way to discover different types of cider; the night we were there they offered a house-made (literally, made in the back of the pub) cider aged in used barrels with Jameson Irish Whiskey, with compelling toasty coconut tones in the finish; a soft and sweet and compulsively drinkable Woodchuck Pear cider; an English Carlton Pippin cider, much tarter and considerably more full-bodied in style; and two tasty local ciders from EZ Orchards, a 2010 vintage and a blend of 2010/2011 vintage.
The sixth tap cider of the day was Weston’s Stowford Press, a traditional, middle of the road English cider from Herefordshire, pleasant and thirst quenching, with mild and lightly sweet apple flavors.
Each of the draft ciders had a distinctive aroma and flavor and mouthfeel. They were as different and wide ranging as beers or wines. And just as fascinating.
A side board listed small pours (8 ounces) of selected glass pour items, including four bottled ciders, three different meads made from honey…including one made from the aguamiel (honey water) sap of the raw agave plant, from which tequila is also made.
We couldn’t resist the glass pour of Petri Tegri Sidra Natural, a Basque cider from Spain. Basque ciders are famous throughout Europe for their full body and rich complexity, their surpassingly tart, hard, dry style, and their affinity for food. The Petri Tegri exactly fit the description---this is a fantastic food cider, complex and evocative enough to go with savory and spicy foods; we quickly ate some parmesan garlic potato chips to verify that, and the cider blossomed out even more in response to the salt and savory of the chips.
On another occasion, Smith graciously agreed to lead a guided tasting tour of ciders, including local Blue Mountain Dry Cider, light and crisp and refreshing; Oliver’s Herefordshire Dry Cider, bottle blended and aged in oak casks for 8 months; Etienne Dupont Cidre Bouché Brut de Normandie 2010, a sparkling delight; the local Wandering Aengus Wanderlust 2010, from Salem, Oregon, with its name derived from a poem by William Butler Yeats, and naming the percentage and types of apples in the blend; Crispin Natural Hard Apple Cider, which despite the name showed some hints of added flavoring with a little Jolly Rancher bouquet; and the granddaddy of them all, the impressive Sarasola Astigerragako Sagarda, a bold and full bodied Basque sidra natural from Spain. For most in the tasting it was like a brave new world of flavor opening up in front of them.
The bartenders are friendly and happy to talk about ciders as much as you wish, and they are informed but not arrogant about it. It’s obvious they have a passion for what they do, and like to share that passion with their customers…but only when the customers show interest.
Off to the side of the bar is a bewildering array of different ciders, encompassing every style imaginable. Amongst the 130+ offerings are numerous American ciders as well as more exotic international ones, the famed French cidre bouchê and pommeau, even pricy sparkling brut ciders from Normandy, and numerous other Basque and Asturian ciders from Spain, along with an abundance of English and Celtic ciders in an array of styles.
There was a stunning list of 170 ciders---current count, the owner said there would be more when he found them or they came in season.
