Spirit Tree Wassail

I know, right? Another cider from Spirit Tree?  These guys are honestly doing so much for the craft cider market in Ontario.  I was able to sit down with Thomas, co-founder of Spirit Tree, to get to sample some of their harder-to-find products.  Included with their Reserve and Ice-Cider, was Wassail, a new cider for them.

Here we come a-wassailing….

In English cider-making tradition, every year in January, people would go and wassail to the apple trees.  Literally, they were singing to the trees to wake them, and ward off evil spirits, to promote a bountiful harvest. So Spirit Tree named a cider after the tradition.  Wassail is a light cider, only 2%abv, but don’t be fooled, it is still a lovely rich cider.

Spirit Tree Wassail

Spirit Tree Wassail

From a 750ml champagne bottle, Spirit Tree Wassail pours a cloudy dark straw gold.  Aroma is beautiful fresh apples.  Like Macintosh and delicious, with some cooked apple sweetness, a touch of a tart pulpiness and a hint of ginger, which might be related to the yeast.  Taste is sweet rich apples, quite a lot like sweet (unfermented) cider, which is not surprising.  Only slightly tart, the cider is nicely sweet, without being cloying.  The ginger is still very present, and I’m quite sure it’s related to the yeast used.  The medium-light body is very quenching and pleasing.  The finish is lightly sweet, with a floral, apple linger. Just magnificent.

I don’t know specifically where to get this one, but I would bet you could get it at Spirit Tree’s Wassail. Every year on Family day (a bit later than England, but then again, we have colder winters) the crew at Spirit Tree invites out any interested parties to join them in wassailing, and also too enjoy ciders and some of their wood-fire oven pastries and breads.  I’ll likely be at next year’s with the little dudes, a-wassailing like a fiend.

About The Cidery

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery is located on 46 acres of rolling hills in the town of Caledon, just above the village of Cheltenham, on a ridge of the beautiful Niagara Escarpment, overlooking Toronto.  The clay soil is a natural habitat for wild apple trees and the perfect location for a cidery.

We were the first winery/cidery to use straw bale construction in Ontario and the largest in Canada.  Other energy conservation methods we employ include a geothermal heating/cooling system, UV treatment system (instead of heat pasteurization), bio-filter water treatment system, wood-fired oven (for our bakery), and an underground fermentation cellar with gravity feed system.

Our ciders are available in Toronto at:  The Fox on Bay, Bar Volo, The Queen and Beaver Pub, The Oxley, Cava Restaurant, Kensington Burger Bar, and beer bistro.  With more coming soon!

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