Tariq Ahmed first discovered cidermaking while working a summer job at Manorun Organic Farm in Guelph. After experimenting with homebrew recipes, Ahmed launched Revel Cider Company in 2013 when he was just 20 years old and has been crafting boundary-pushing ciders since then. His Spirit of the Woods cider is aged on spent gin botanicals from Dillon’s Distillery, offering fragrant notes of clove, citrus and vanilla and earning it two gold medals at last year’s Ontario Cider Awards. The Hop X, this year’s bronze winner in the ‘Other Fruit’ judged category, is a truly unique cider that achieves hoppy beer-like flavour without the bitterness. Try Revel Ciders at Thirsty and Miserable and Her Father's Cider Bar.
One of the first major apple processing facilities in the province – a century-old historic building near Collingwood – is an apt location to make the LCBO’s most popular craft cider. Thornbury’s cidermaster Doug Johnson fresh-presses local Ontario apples to create a cider that’s refreshingly dry and crisp. The brand's flagship premium apple cider took home a gold prize in the ‘Traditional Apple’ judged category and offers a similar drinking experience to your classic English cider. It’s available at the LCBO and can soon be sampled at the cidery’s new tasting room opening this winter.
British-born founder Chris Haworth brings his home country’s cidermaking traditions to Ontario with his company West Avenue Cider. Along with his wife Amy, he produces tasty ciders in small batches, borrowing winemaking techniques such as barrel aging and bottle conditioning to create ciders with an impressive depth of flavour. Try West Avenue’s double prize-winning Gold Dust (available at WVRST), which has been aged in Niagara wine barrels for over three years. West Avenue also incorporates fruit into many of its ciders, like their Cherriosity which uses Niagara Montmorency cherries for a tart and stone-fruity touch to your typical hard cider.
The newest cidery on the list, this Aurora-based operation launched in 2016 by husband-and-wife duo Michelle and Steve Faris. To create their Ernest Dry Cider, available at the LCBO, locally-pressed juices from seven Ontario apple varieties are slowly fermented in small batches. The company’s bee-themed design is a nod to the cider’s natural sweetener – wildflower honey from Martin’s Sweet Farm in Halton – which adds depth of flavour and a pleasant mouth feel. We love how this cidery recognizes the importance of the very creatures that help make its products, donating 15% of profits from its online merch to bee research projects in the country.
As Ontario’s only Estate Cidery, the Caledon-based Spirit Tree does it all. They grow their own apples, press them on-site then slow ferment the juices in an underground cellar using cider-specific yeasts. Spirit Tree’s Pumpkin Cider took home 2nd prize in the People’s Choice ‘Other Fruit’ category but its availability is limited. Instead, pick up Spirit Tree’s flagship Draught Cider – a tart and bold beverage made from six apple varieties with aromas of green apple, spice and hay – at the LCBO. Or head straight to the source and tour Spirit Tree’s production facility which includes plenty of time for cider sampling.
Heritage apple varietals are the key to Pommies’ delicious, refreshing ciders. It takes anywhere from six weeks to two months to craft a batch of Pommies Cider, which is fermented with white wine yeast to help showcase the apple’s flavours and aromas. Their flagship Dry Cider, available from the LCBO, is light, crisp and highly sippable while the Farmhouse Cider has a more rustic, funky taste to it. For an alternative to the traditional apple cider, try the Pommies Perry – it’s made from Ontario Bartlett and Bosc pears that give the cider subtle floral and spicy undertones. Pommies Perry took home silver in the ‘Other Fruit’ judged category at this year's Ontario Cider Awards and you can sample this prize-winning cider at Hair of the Dog and Wildly Delicious during the autumn and winter.
