Review of Citizen Cider’s Mr. Burlington and Ms. Burlington, two new limited release ciders from local apples, part of their ‘Origin’ series.  Mr. Burlington is a barrel aged cider with orange peel (and fennel seed and dandelion leaf).  Ms. Burlington is a gin-botanical inspired cider.  Due to the similarities and them showing up together, I thought I’d group them.  It is my first time trying these, but I’ve previously had their Wit’s Up.

<This is a review of sample cans 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:  Mr. & Ms. Burlington
Cidery:  Citizen Cider
Cidery Location:  Burlington Vermont
ABV:  6.9%
How Supplied:  6 pack of 12oz cans (and kegs)
Style:  American craft cider from Vermont grown dessert apples, where Mr. is Old Fashioned Inspired (barrel aged with orange peel) and Ms. is Gin inspired (with botanicals)

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)

Mr. B Cider Description:  Since moving to Burlington, Citizen Cider has heard rumors that there may in fact be a character known on the streets as Mr. Burlington. Citizen Cider would like to shed some light on the matter once and for all. So we made a cider in the spirit of a Manhattan, a true gentleman’s drink. in hopes of luring Mr. Burlington out of the shadows and into the light.

Ms. B Cider Description:  We needed a cider that was hard-hitting, chic and full of class. So, we sat down and we drank cider, all 14 of us and we collectively agreed on a cider that embodies a true ‘cider lady’. Ms. Burlington is a collaboration of all things delightful, especially in a cocktail. A bit of bitterness, a snippet of floral notes and a whole lot of gin-style herbaceous notes make up this fantastic cider. And this year in a fancy 12oz can….

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:  unknown
Where Bought:  n/a
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  it showed up

Tasting Notes on Mr. B:  Very light straw yellow hue.  Still.  Smells herbal.  On the drier side of semi-dry.  Light bodied.  Moderate tartness and acidity.  Hints of bitterness and tannins.  No sourness or funk.  Notes of lemon, herbs, and a hint of oak.  Moderate length finish.  Low barrel influence.  Moderate complexity and sessionability.  Low to moderate flavor intensity and apple flavor.

Tasting Notes on Ms. B:  Very light straw yellow hue.  Still.  Smells of botanicals.  Semi-dry.  Light to medium bodied.  Low to moderate tartness and acidity.  Low bitterness.  No tannins, sourness, or funk.  Notes of lemon, herbs, and botanicals (especially on the moderate length finish).  Moderate sessionability and complexity.  Low to moderate flavor intensity and apple flavor.

My Opinion:  I liked Mr. B much more than Ms. B, but neither was really to my personal tastes, with the flavors and dryness.  However, my husband was a big fan of both, especially the Ms. B (we tend to have an opposite taste in ciders).  If you like dry ish ciders from dessert apples with some unique cocktail-inspired flavors, these may be for you.

Most Similar to:  Nothing I’ve tried, as these were different than the other cocktail-inspired ciders I’ve tried, such as Angry Orchard’s Orchard Edge The Old Fashioned, Reverend Nat’s Tent Show Deliverance Gin & Tonic, Woodchuck Out on a Limb June & Juice, multiple ciders from WildCraft, and multiple from Finnriver.

Closing Notes:  These were some fun creations.

Have you tried Citizen Cider Mr. or Ms. Burlington?  What did you think?