Original Sin Elderberry

February 15, 2019February 11, 2019 cidersays Original Sin, review cider, cider review, cider tasting, elderberry, elderberry cider, hard cider, Locust, Original Sin, tasting notes, Vanilla Bean

Review of Original Sin Elderberry cider. It is my first time trying this, but I’ve had their Cherry Tree, Pear, Northern Spy, and Extra Dry

Cider: Elderberry
Cidery: Original Sin
Cidery Location: New York NY
ABV: 5.0%
How Supplied: multipack of 12oz cans
Style: American craft cider from dessert apples with elderberries

Availability: semi wide release

Cider Description: A balanced cider combining the natural acid and sugar of apples with the tart qualities of elderberries. Elderberries have been adding flare to hard cider for centuries. In fact, the 1822 book The American Orchardist suggests adding Elderberries to give cider “a fine colour as well as flavour.” Original Sin brings back this brilliant tradition with our new Elderberry Cider.

Cidery Description: Established in 1996, Original Sin is one of the original modern-day U.S. cider companies. With a mere $5,000 in funding, founder Gidon Coll began making cider in Upstate New York and spent two years going bar to bar in New York City to develop his early market base. Today, Original Sin is still 100% independent and now distributed in 32 U.S. States, The United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Japan.

Original Sin started a New York State test orchard five years ago, which now features over 100 rare, cider and contemporary apple varieties. Each year, the company adds interesting and historically significant varieties to the Original Sin orchard’s genetic pool.

Price: ~ $3 / can
Where Bought: The Cave in Kirkland WA
Where Drank: home
How Found: browsing

First Impression: Medium purple-red hue. Smells of tart berry. Very low carbonation.

Tasting Notes: Semi-dry. Light bodied. Moderate tartness and acidity. No bitterness, sourness, funk, or tannins. Notes of berry with hints of cranberry & pomegranate. Moderate length finish. Low apple flavor. Low complexity. Low to moderate flavor intensity. High sessionability.

My Opinion: I thought this was average. Plenty drinkable, but it didn’t really stand out.

Most Similar to: any other semi-dry berry cider

Closing Notes: I also bought a can of Locust Vanilla Bean and mixed them together. That one was a bit of an off can, less flavorful and sweet than usual, but its a nice mix.

Have you tried Original Sin Elderberry? What did you think?

Original Sin Extra Dry

February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 cidersays Original Sin, review canned cider, cider, cider review, cider tasting, Extra Dry, hard cider, hard cider review, New York, Original Sin

Review of Original Sin’s newest cider, Extra Dry, from York, New York. It launched last month. This is their first canned cider (previously most of their ciders were sold in six packs of 12oz bottles, and a couple special releases in 750ml bottles) and celebrates their 20th! anniversary. I’ve previously tried their Cherry Tree, Elderberry, Pear and Northern Spy ciders.

>This is a review of a sample can provided to Cider Says by Original Sin. Although I will take care to treat it the same as any other review, there is always the potential for bias as I received it for free. The only consideration I knowingly made was pushing this up in my cider review cue. I love free stuff, especially cider! Want your cider or cider-related product reviewed here? Contact me.<<

Cider: Extra Dry
Cidery: Original Sin
Cidery Location: York NY
ABV: 5.5%
How Supplied: four pack of 16oz cans
Style: American sessionable canned craft cider made from dessert apples

Availability: Currently sold year round in FL, IL, MD, NC, OH, PA, and WA D.C. In April it will launch nationally to more than 30 states (everywhere its ciders are currently distributed).

Cider Description: Original Sin Extra Dry Cider contains a distinct blend of New York apples including Ida Red, MacIntosh, Cortland, and several russeted apples. The cider is complex, balanced, and sessionable with a minimal level of residual sugar.

Made from 100% fresh pressed New York apples, champagne yeast, and nothing else. Their suggested pairings are ripe camembert, roasted oysters, and anything else you might enjoy on a back patio.

Price: n/a (suggested retail price of $10.49 / 4 cans)
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: I had read about this release online. The founder of Original Sin, Gidon Coll, e-mailed and asked if he could send a sample, and I never turn down free cider…

First Impression: Pale straw yellow hue. Moderate carbonation with tiny bubbles upon pouring, which quickly dissipated. Smells dry, of tart green apples, yeast, and citrus.

Tasting Notes: Dry. High acidity. Mild tartness. Mild astringent tannins. Hints of bitterness and sourness. Light bodied. Low carbonation. Notes of juicy apple to start, then citrus, and hints of green apple, floral (I think I taste a hint of lavender of all things?), mineral, and yeast. Moderate length finish. Mild apple flavor. Moderate sessionability.

My Opinion: Enjoyable, although its not something I’d usually drink (I go more for full flavored then sessionable ciders). It seems more flavorful than many sessionable ciders. I think I’ve got more accustomed to dry ciders, as even 6 months ago I wouldn’t have liked a cider this dry.

Most Similar to: Ace Joker (although this cider has more apple flavor), Farnum Hill Extra Dry (although this cider is less tannic and less bitter), and Alpenfire Pirate’s Plank (although this cider is less tannic and sweeter).

Closing Notes: This probably ties with their Northern Spy for my favorite Original Sin cider so far. I usually go for sweeter ciders, but it won me over. Thankfully I have a second can to drink as well.

Have you tried Original Sin Extra Dry? What did you think?

Original Sin Pear

November 5, 2015October 31, 2015 cidersays Original Sin, review cider, cider review, hard cider, hard cider review, Original Sin, pear, pear cider, perry

Review of the Pear variety from Original Sin. Note that this is pear cider (apple cider with pear juice added), not perry (made from 100% pear juice).

Cider: Pear
Cidery: Original Sin
Cidery Location: New York NY
ABV: 4.5%
How Supplied: six pack of 12oz bottles

Availability: year round, in over 30 U.S. states, the UK, and Japan

Cider Description: Two parts pear, one part magic. A Dry cider fermented with champagne yeast. Original Sin Pear Cider was developed in line with the company’s mission to produce traditional cider leaving out artificial flavors and additives. Original Sin Pear is light and refreshing with a clean, dry finish.

Cidery Description: 20th-century American ciders were sweet, syrupy – a far cry from the dry, crisp, revolution-inciting ciders of our country’s past. Gidon Coll wanted to reconnect America to its roots by creating a traditional cider with the complexity to satisfy today’s discriminating palates. But where to begin? Coll immersed himself in the history and the craft of cider. He experimented. He brewed batch after batch in a small upstate New York winery. He sought counsel from a local wine expert and from the owners, bartenders and patrons of bars he frequented in New York City’s Lower East Side and East Village. He collected feedback from everyone he knew, adjusting and tinkering with his cider’s flavor until it was clean, crisp, and practically perfect. Then he enlisted friends to painstakingly hand-label bottle after bottle. He lugged cases and cases in and out of NYC’s subways, delivering bottles to establishments of Manhattan and Brooklyn. And it wasn’t long before Original Sin began receiving wide acclaim from sources as diverse as The New York Times, New York Post, Paper Magazine and Market Watch. Today, you can find Original Sin’s unique, award-winning ciders in over 30 states, as well as overseas in the U.K. and Japan. But it all started here in the U.S. — inspired by our country’s past: a clean, crisp, DEVILISHLY DELICIOUS cider for our future. [founded in 1997]

Price: ~$2 for a single bottle (runs $10 for a six pack)
Where Bought: Total Wine
Where Drank: home
How Found: Browsing. I’d been wanting to review an Original Sin cider, and hadn’t tried this one.

First Impression: Almost clear, with a slightly yellow tint. Smells of apples, pears, and citrus. Highly carbonated.

Opinion: Semi-dry. Very fizzy and champagne-like. However, the flavor is much more tart & tangy green apple with citrus than pear. No bitterness. Moderate acidity. Light bodied. No funk. Some yeasty flavor. I agree it is “light and refreshing with a clean, dry finish”, but I prefer a more boldly flavored cider. I liked the carbonation level and the dryness though.

Most Similar to: Portland Cider Pearfect Perry, which I tried on tap at the Schilling Cider House. It was also rather mild with almost no pear flavor, but fizzy and refreshing. That one however was a true perry (100% pear juice, Bartlett and D’Anjou), unlike Original Sin Pear.

Closing Notes: Refreshing, but on the bland side and unimpressive. Original Sin currently offers Apple, Apricot, Pear, Elderberry, Cherry Tree, Northern Spy, and Newtown Pippin varieties. I’ve also tried the Elderberry and Cherry Tree, and would say they were also pretty average. Original Sin’s ciders tend to be on the drier side of the 6 pack cider offerings. They are an affordable and widely available craft cider option however, which is something to be commended.

Have you tried Original Sin Pear? What did you think?

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