In the spring of this year, Original Sin founder Gidon Coll planted a small orchard on his family’s old dairy farm in the Hudson Valley. The orchard features 30 varieties of apples including heirloom apples such as the Newtown Pippin, Roxbury Russet and Harrison Crab as well as U.K. cider apples such as Kingston Black, Ashmead’s Kernal and Yarlington Mills. The orchard contains several unusual apple varieties, including Kazakh apple trees (apples are believed to originate from the Tien Shan Mountain range in Kazakhstan). Next year, the orchard will be doubled to include 60 varieties of apples from 8 different countries. The majority of the apples planted have traditionally been used for hard cider production.

But geographical conveniences aside, there is still something incredibly satisfying about cherry cider. The acidity of a well made cider can elevate common sweet cherries from bland to brilliant, while cider’s complexity and tannic structure can give weight to tart cherries and bring out their flavor. For me, cherry ciders are a way to extend the delicious taste of too-short cherry growing season well into the fall where these ciders make an ideal pairing for the richer dishes and sturdier herbs that I forgot once summer vegetables started to appear at the local farmstand.

The flavor profile of cherry cider can vary greatly; each cider maker has the opportunity to showcase their own interpretation of the pairing. We sampled several cherry ciders from around the country to find some favorites to recommend.

Original Article Here: Serious Eats

5. Skin on

Learn to eat apple skins since two thirds of the fiber and loads of antioxidants are in them.

4. Rose family?

Apples are actually a member of the rose family. Personally, we don’t see the connection.

3. Poison!

Apple seeds contain small amounts of amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside, a mild poison. Don’t worry, it’s not enough to hurt us but does keep the birds away.

2. Big family

7500 apples varieties grow around the world and the US grows 2500 of them. But the only one native to North America is the Crabapple.

1. Adam’s

The Adam’s apple that’s seen in males because of the notion that the forbidden fruit got lodged in Adam’s throat, even though the bible never mentions the fruit being an apple.

Original Article Here: Taste Terminal

The borough is also the birthplace of the legendary Newton Pippin apple, the star of Original Sin Cider’s brand-new single-varietal cider ($12 for 750 ml).

The grassy-green Newton Pippin, originally discovered in 1740 in what is now Elmhurst, Queens, caused Thomas Jefferson to declare from France, “They have no apples here to compare with our Newtown Pippin.”

Now, Original Sin Cider’s Gidon Coll has harnessed the apple’s distinctive character for his Newton Pippin Hard Cider, which is available in New York this week for the first time.

Fermented to dryness, the tart cider’s light fizz strikes a balance with the yeastiness of Champagne yeast and a low residual sugar content. Clean and tasting faintly of lemons, it cuts through fish or even Indian takeout.

Coll is launching Cherry Tree Hard Cider this week as well ($12 for 750 ml). Golden and Russet apples are blended with the juice of tart cherries for a heavier, richer cider. The sweet, rosy pink cider is beautiful in the glass and an ideal match with a hunk of cheddar or served alongside a duck breast. We’re nominating it as our rosé of fall.

Original Article Here: Tasting Table

The fermented-apple beverage is often thought of as an alternative to beer. After all, it’s typically served on tap by the pint or stored in 12-ounce bottles in the beer fridge. But when you talk to cider-making folks, you realize that the production and even the consumption of cider can be closer to wine.

“The way we make cider is similar to the making of grape wine,” says Autumn Stoscheck of Eve’s Cidery, whose products will be featured at participating bars and restaurants during Cider Week. “We grow our apples almost exclusively for the purpose of fermenting them. We’re more interested in flavors and sugars than we are in aesthetic beauty.”

Most of Eve’s ciders are blends. But like other cideries, the company also produces a single-variety bottling made with Northern Spy apples. The apple variety, says Stoscheck, is “wonky” and bruises easily, but has the right sugars and acidity to ferment nicely. Eve’s also makes a single-orchard cider from English and French varieties, and is about to start experimenting with newly available Spanish apples.

“We’re in Appalachia where we have old timers who still live in the houses they were born in,” says Stoscheck. “People here have this collective memory where every farmstead has an orchard out back. There were literally hundreds and hundreds of varieties. As the trees get older in people’s backyards and aren’t being taken care of, they disappear. And that’s a big loss because these varieties are treasures.”

The tag line for Cider Week is “saving orchards with cider.” Participating restaurants and bars throughout New York City will feature special tastings, pairing dinners and classes. Gidon Coll, the founder of Original Sin Cider, hopes the events will raise awareness of the cider category and shed some much-needed attention on farmers from the northeast, many of whom are still recovering from the effects of Tropical Storm Irene.

“In this country, 11 commercial varieties represent 90% of apple sales in supermarkets,” says Coll, who was raised on a dairy farm in upstate New York. “Yet, there are thousands of varieties of apples, including many that originate in New York. They have wonderful histories and much more unique flavors than store-bought apples.”

He cites the Newtown Pippin, the heirloom variety that inspired him to make the cidery’s first single-varietal product, out this November. It’s known as the only popular heirloom apple that originated in the five boroughs of New York. It was first seeded in 1740 on Queens’ farmland and quickly earned a reputation as the finest eating apple of its day, according to Coll. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew the Newtown Pippin on their personal estates, and it was the first apple exported, helping to establish this country’s fruit-export business. Original Sin will also release a Cherry Tree cider this fall, both of which New Yorkers can get an early taste of during Cider Week.

“At that time, the Newtown Pippin was considered more than just a great apple. It was a point of national pride,” explains Coll. “One book claims that 1804-1904 was the Golden Age of apples. It was a time when magazines would review new varieties of apples the way they review movies today.”

Getting thirsty yet? You should be. Cider is not only refreshing on its own, but pairs wonderfully with food. It has many of the characteristics great food wines boast, such as crisp acidity that cleanses the palate, and firm tannins to help offset fat. And if your mom ever made you apples and cheese slices as an after-school snack, you can probably believe that cider can out-pair wine for your favorite fromage just about any day of the week.

Original Article Here: Food Republic

Original Sin Cider and R.Black, in conjunction with Small Bar – Chicago will be holding a contest for the next Original Sin Pinup poster model at Small Bar Fullerton Ave, September 21st, 2010. The event starts at 9pm, the Contest starts at 10:30pm. The event is open to the public.

To compete, please email Chad Lynd of Small Bar. Submissions should include a photo and contact information. You can also drop info/photos off at any Small Bar – Chicago location.
Winner will be featured on a special Chicago/Original Sin Pinup Poster!

Original Sin Cider drink specials all night.

Judges will include artist R.Black (coming in from Oakland, CA), Heather of Vavoom Pinups, Wesley Phillips from Windy City Distribution, Phil Kuhl of Fountainhead, and Mike from Kuma’s Corner. The MC for the night is Matt B. Lovin.

check out the facebook invite, thesmallbar.com and rblack.org

AlternaBeer: Sin in a Bottle Maybe Adam & Eve were on to something

by Alicia Eichelman

With summer winding down and fall just around the corner, your palate may be yearning for something different than the seasonal light-bodied wheat ales, but perhaps it isn’t quite ready for the German-styled Oktoberfest brews just yet. Lucky for you, something sinfully delicious has come our way via the Big Apple. Inspired by the New York City experience, this premium cider is as lively as its origins. Original Sin Hard Cider is a gluten-free, 6% ABV cider made from domestic granny smith apples. This beverage is all natural, containing no artificial flavors or colors, keeping the taste of the apples its most prominent ingredient. Both light and refreshing, while remaining wickedly complex, it is a stellar alternative to our favorite beverage on those lingering hot days and nights. Original Sin Pear Cider was also recently released, although not yet in our area. Original Sin Hard Cider can currently be found in drafts and bottles at your favorite local hangouts including: McGillin’s Ale House, South Philly Tap Room, The Foodery, Bella VIsta Beer Distributor, and more. So go ahead, sin a little. It is, after all, only natural.