It is true that, as a kid, I was not a huge fan of apple juice. My mom would faithfully buy Mott’s, Musselman’s and whatever else happened to show up on the grocery store’s shelf but I never really liked any of them. Once in awhile, we would go to the cider mill and get cider and even that didn’t thrill me. You could say that I disrespected the apple, not giving it it’s propers.

I might have gone my whole life without appreciating our apple friends if not for Boyfriend Ken. Ken really likes him some cider and dragged me (repeatedly) to the Dexter Cider Mill last year. It finally got to the point where I was enjoying the cider more than the donuts something that delighted both my palate and my ass.

Given that we both like ciders, Ken & I were excited to attend the Produce Station’s (un)Corked cider tasting at the Last Word. Seriously, the trifecta of one of my favorite markets (Produce Station), one of my favorite bars (LW) and yummy ciders from Vander Mill was almost too good to be true! Here are my favorites:

Vander Mill Michigan Wit ~ I was leery of this because, as I’m sure I’ve said before, I do not care for wit beers. They have a certain yeasty taste that I do not like (I do, however, enjoy the lyrical poetry of the Yeastie Girls) and don’t always feel great in my mouth (for other things that are or aren’t great in mouths, please see the aforementioned Yeastie’s). BUT this cider was excellent! It didn’t have that taste I don’t like and instead just tasted of apples with a hint of citrus at the end. In my tasting notes, I wrote down “pleasant” and I think that is still the best word to describe this wonderful drink.

Vander Mill Apple Blueberry Cider ~ I knew I’d like this even before I drank it because I like blueberries. Thought I’m not infrequently compared to Veruca Salt, I actually wouldn’t have minded being Violet Beauregard for a brief moment. 32 oz of blueberry concentrate is added to each keg of cider, giving us a semi-dry cider with a lovely splash of blueberry goodness. And you don’t turn blue when you drink it!

Vander Mill Cherry Hard Cider ~ Sometimes, cherry flavors are way too cloying and turn an otherwise good drink into something tasting like this guy just came bursting through your wall. Not so with this cider! Cherry wasn’t too overwhelming yet still very flavorful…a very nice blend!

So there you have it folks! A wonderful night with awesome ciders and even some cheese samples as well. For the record, I still don’t like apple juice that much, but I think it has more to do with the mental scarring caused by this stupid commercial than anything in the bottle….