Windfall Cider – Sweater Weather
Windfall Cider’s rye whiskey barrel-aged cider is our Pour of the Week
It’s only fitting that Luke and I include a New Year’s resolution in our first blog post of 2020. Drink more cider! Consider it our version of a juice cleanse. This should also be an easy task considering the number of delicious and diverse options available.
Craft beer isn’t the only beverage industry that’s been taking off in BC in the last few years. Every year we’re seeing more local cider companies pop-up too. Evidence of this is the BC Cider Festival which is back in action this spring.
One of the cideries that has been getting some serious love from Vancouver foodies and beer, cider, and wine fanatics is Windfall Cider. The husband-and-wife duo of Jeff and Nathaly Nairn launched two delicious mainstay ciders since 2018—their Jackpot Dry Apple Cider and Hail Mary Rose Cider—and have produced some great seasonals as well.
Jeff kindly dropped off a bottle of their latest small batch cider just in time for the holiday season. Sweater Weather is a dry cider that was aged in rye whiskey barrels. Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrels, to be precise. Jeff mentioned that rye whiskey barrels are often hard to come by. Unlike, bourbon barrels that are only used for one batch due to strict regulations and then sold, distilleries can reuse their rye barrels as many times as they see fit. This usually means that they hold on to the barrels until they’re almost falling apart.
Needless to say, Jeff was beyond stoked to get his hands on three used rye barrels from Woodinville, and couldn’t wait to get to work on a really unique cider recipe.
Sweater Weather is a complex cider that more closely resembles a white wine. The mouth-feel is flatter than a standard dry cider due to the low carbonation. This helps the subtle flavours imparted by the rye barrels to shine though.
I found Sweater Weather more enjoyable once pouring into a glass and letting it warm slightly. This brought vanilla notes to the surface, which complimented the cider's mild sweetness.
Sweater Weather has most definitely wet my tongue for barrel-aged ciders. If you’d like to pick up a bottle, check out the list of private liquor stores carrying it in Windfall’s Instagram post. It’s been about a month and a half since the release, so hopefully there are still a few bottles left… fingers crossed!
Thanks to Jeff and Nathaly for providing us with a bottle of their Sweater Weather barrel-aged cider to make this blog post possible.
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