June 29th, 2013
Delaware’s First Hard Ciders, Black Twig, Hard Apple, Blazing Star, Sparkling Peach, T.S. Smith & Sons, Bridgeville, Great Shoals Winery, Cheers!! It’s Hot at the Delaware Beaches
Last year, it was a first in Delaware when T.S. Smith & Sons, the oldest commercial apple orchard and the only one in Sussex County, teamed up with an award-winning small batch winery, Great Shoals Winery, to first offer Black Twig, Hard Apple Cider. Then, just some months ago the unveiling of the First Hard Peach Cider, Blazing Star came on the market.
I went looking for these hard ciders because on these hot summer days…they are so refreshing and just right.
T. S. Smith and Sons is located on Redden Rd. in Bridgeville, Delaware. I visited this farm some time ago and you can check my post on 9/23/11 on this website.
Apple cider is as much a part of America’s apple story as apple pie. In the Colonial period and up to the middle of the 19th century, cider was the most popular and important beverage in America.
T.S. Smith & Sons in Bridgeville frequently fields questions from customer about how to get the “hard” variety of their special drink. Unfortunately, no one in Delaware had produced a hard version of the apple cider.
Just a short distance away, south, on Rt. 13, in Princess Anne, Maryland, Great Shoals Winery had completed production of what is now an award winning sparkling hard cider from the Spencerville Red apple, grown on one of Maryland’s historic family farms.
Great Shoals Wine Maker, Matt Cimino, was looking for a Delaware Apple with just the right properties for another small batch wine at about the same time T.S. Smith and sons was loking for just the right winery to answer to their customers’ requests for a hard cider. The Black Twig was the chosen apple and last year the Black Twig Hard Apple Cider was presented to the public. The Black Twig apple variety was first grown near Fayetteville, Tennessee during the 1830s.
The Black Twig Hard Apple is crisp and dry. It has been awarded the 2012 Winemasters’ Choice Silver Medal.
Just a few months ago, a peach hard cider came into the market Again, T.S. Smith and Sons and Great Shoals Winery partnered. This particular cider is a little less dry and bubbly than the Black Twig. It is made from peaches, Blazing Star, and apples, Ginger Gold, grown at T.S Smith and Sons farm.
These hard ciders are becoming the perfect drink during the sizzling summer days at the Delaware Beaches.
Plenty of the liquor stores in the area are carrying them this summer. And, you can also find them in some of the area restaurants.
Please visit Great Shoals Winery at http://www.greatshoals.com for more information regarding their location and where to get their hard ciders and sparkling wines.
T.S. Smith and Sons is open year round…Website? http://www.tssmithandsons.com.
Have a great week-end!!
Tags: Black Twig, Black Twig Hard Apple Cider, Blazing Star Sparkling Peach, Delaware, Delaware Beaches, Delaware's Hard Ciders, Great Shoals Winery, Hard Ciders, Southern Delaware, Sparkling Peach, Sparkling Wines, Sussex County, T.S. Smith and Sons, Visiting Rehoboth Beach
