Review of Citizen Cider’s Tulsi, a holy basil infused cider.  It is my first time trying this, but I’ve previously had their Wit’s Up, Mr. Burlington, and Ms. Burlington.

<This is a review of a sample can provided to Cider Says by Citizen Cider.  Although I will take care to treat it the same as any other review, there is always the potential for bias as I received this for free.  The only consideration I knowingly made was pushing this up in my cider review que, considering it is a new release and the info may be helpful for folks deciding to purchase it.  I love free stuff, especially cider!  Want your cider or cider-related product reviewed here?  Contact me.>

Cider:  Tulsi
Cidery:  Citizen Cider
Cidery Location:  Burlington VT
ABV:  5.4%
How Supplied:  12oz cans (and draft)
Style:  American craft cider from Vermont dessert apples, with holy basil (tulsi)

  

Availability:  limited, but in general their ciders are sold in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and Metro Philadelphia (see their cider locator)

Cider Description:  Tulsi, more commonly known as Holy Basil an aromatic perennial. Harvested in the summer of 2017 right here in Burlington at Hallow Herb Farm. We add this local herb to our off-dry cider blend and let it steep letting the aromatic basil complement the fresh apple cider. Once a house favorite only shared locally, now a cider to share with the Citizens.

Cidery Description:  Justin Heilenbach, Bryan Holmes and Kris Nelson founded Citizen Cider in 2010 on a hunch and some good old-fashioned hard work. Kris was working as a wine salesmen, Bryan as a chemist and Justin as a small farmer. All discontent for one reason or another, they started pressing sweet cider in Kris’s barn and fermenting test batches of hard cider in Bryan’s basement. As it happens, they discovered that their ideas about hard cider translated into some pretty unique and interesting finished products.

See more about their story here.  Citizen Cider has a tasting room in Burlington Vermont.

Price:  n/a (but retails for ~ $9.99 / four pack)
Where Bought:  n/a
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  it showed up

First Impression:  Light straw yellow hue.  Low carbonation.  Smells mildly herbal.

Tasting Notes:  Dry.  Light bodied.  Low tartness.  Moderate acidity.  Hints of bitterness.  No tannins, sourness, or funk.  Herbal (basil and botanical) notes with lime, lemon, and green apple.  Moderate length finish.  Low apple flavor and flavor intensity.  Moderate sessionability and complexity.

My Opinion:  I liked it.  This was a very mildly flavored cider, but the herbal citrus mix was nice.

Most Similar to:  I’ve had two ciders with basil (Seattle Cider Basil Mint and One Tree Lemon Basil), but neither was similar to this.  It was however similar to Citizen’s Ms. Burlington.

Closing Notes:  I preferred this to their other releases I’ve tried.  However, so far my husband is a bigger fan of their ciders than I am (as he enjoys mild dry ciders more than I do).

Have you tried Citizen Cider Tulsi?  What did you think?