Apples. Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays — a celebration of family, feasting, and maybe some football. We’ve got lots of suggestions for wine on your Thanksgiving dinner table, in our nine mixed cases and November Notebook. But this year we’ll be adding another, more traditional beverage to our table: crisp, refreshing, Breton cider.
Cider wasn’t around on the first Thanksgiving, but it has likely been served at more Thanksgivings over the last 394 years than any other drink. Apples aren’t indigenous to North America, but were likely brought over by colonists soon after 1621. A favorite drink of the founding fathers, cider is a great choice for this most American of holidays.
Rustic. There are now dozens of sources for excellent domestic ciders, but for something more traditional (and more like what was around in the early years of our country) we return to the Old World. For centuries, inhabitants of the rugged Breton peninsula have cultivated an extensive network of orchards, pressing a wide variety of apples into their local sparkling drink.
Melenig’s cider is unlike anything we’ve yet tasted from the States. The flavors are of earth, apple skins, black tea, and dried fruits; the mouthfeel is woodsy and rustic — a perfect representation of the windblown French coast, and an versatile match for the wide array of flavors on a thanksgiving table. There’s a hint of ripe apple sweetness when first in the mouth, but the finish is dry and textured.
At 4% alcohol, this is a refreshing, complex, and delightful drink, as affordable as it is delicious. If historical accuracy is your game, you won’t need cider — for that you’ll need lobsters and passenger pigeons — but for a hearty glass of a autumnal essence, consider adding some cider to your table.
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MELENIG Cidre de Bretagne
Ansonia Retail: $15
case, half-case: $12.95/bot
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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS
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(For something even less historically accurate but more appley, try Melenig’s cordial called “Pommeau.”)
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