This will be a short post, as I only tasted one new-to-me cider during my latest visit to Locust Cider in Woodinville WA.  Check out my prior tasting notes and reviews of Locust ciders here.  It was an impromptu visit.  My husband and I met two friends for lunch at the Tipsy Cow in Redmond (which is an amazing burger place, and I don’t even like hamburgers…I get a veggie burger), and we decided to go to a few tasting rooms in Woodinville before heading home.  The boys had some wine at a couple of the winery tasting rooms in the same stripmall as the Locust Cider tasting room, and us girls tried some cider.

Their tap list hadn’t changed much from my visit a few weeks ago…they swapped Chipotle for the Alder Smoked Apple.  That worked great for me though, as it was the only one on the menu I hadn’t tried!  Their “up next” list also looks really interesting, especially the red wine barrel aged and prickly pear ciders.

Alder Smoked Apple:  6.0% ABV.  They get the smoke flavor from alder smoked apple rings added during fermentation, showed in this photo from their Instagram.  This is a tap-only release, but has made it to a few other locations in the Seattle area.

Semi-sweet to sweet.  Mild acidity.  Mild tartness.  No sourness, funk, or tannins.  Full bodied.  Notes of maple, honey, and hints of citrus and alder.  I only picked up mild smoke flavor in the moderate length finish.  Moderate to high apple flavor.  High sessionability.

They said this was less smokey than previous batches.  I enjoyed it, but I think with more smoke and less sweetness, it would have been awesome.

I also tried their Winesap cider again.  I liked it better last time; this time it was missing that frothy texture I enjoyed, and was a bit more sour.

I also spotted their new bottle design.  They are going from 750ml to 500ml bottles on their special release ciders, which I think is a good move.  500ml is my favorite bottle size.

I look forward to trying more from Locust Cider.