That cider is (as you probably deduced from the title of this post) 1911 Established's Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged Hard Cider. I'm going into my can with no prior experience regarding the cider itself or the cidery. Here's hoping its worth my initial excitement!

1911 Established is the hard cider arm of Lafayette, NY's Break & Skiff Apple Orchards. The company's roots go back to 1911, when George Skiff and Andrew Break planted the first apple trees on the property of their joint venture. Ninety years on, Break & Skiff got into the hard cider business. Today, 1911 Established is brewed in the 1911 Cider House, where its makers focus on crafting innovative ciders that showcase all the drink can be. If you want the full rundown on the place and people behind today's cider, be sure to head over to their "100 Years of Quality" page.

Maple BBA (to what I'll be referring to the subject of this post for brevity) has (as of this writing) a small place on the cidery's online storefront. It's description on this page lists the 6.9% ABV cider as having spent six months in bourbon barrels that were then used to age maple syrup. The listing goes on to say that I should expect a cider with notes of maple syrup and vanilla.

It's a rare thing for a drink (cider, beer, or otherwise) to smell like a bottle of newly-opened maple syrup. I say this because Maple BBA achieves this exact feat. My first brush with the bouquet brought to mind waffles and pancakes. A return waft gave me more maple goodness, but with apple and vanilla in tow. There's no bourbon sharpness on the nose, no heavy booziness. Just warm and sweet autumnal aromas. Purrl gave my can nine whiffs--she's pretty partial to sweet things.

Now for the moment I've patiently awaited: the taste. The barrel aging shines through more in the palate, hitting after an immediate wash of apple with a bit of sour, some oakiness, and a smattering of vanilla. This gives way to more apple, which opens up to the maple syrup. This is decadent and lingers long in the sticky finish with the apple and a welcome return of the vanilla. I'm amazed that I can trace this precise path through each swig from my can, and that each time I find it as admirable as the first.

Were I to find some fault with the cider, it'd be in the mouthfeel. It's a little thinner than would befit the heavy flavor, but the sharpness of the apples and carbonation are here.

When I was in college, I regularly had frozen waffles with maple syrup for breakfast whenever I visited home over breaks. I'd wake up and watch an episode or two of King of the Hill while eating those syrup-smothered waffles and drinking a glass of apple juice or sweet cider. Those bright and pleasant mornings, before any of the actual trials of adulthood had settled in for me, are exactly what I'm remembering as I drink Maple BBA.

If I said anything other than I'm floored by 1911's Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged Hard Cider, I'd be lying. This cider is a masterclass of how to use all its adjuncts in a way that provides continuity between and respect for each piece. It's an easy 10/10. This means we're two for two for my highest recommendations this month. The cider is definitely worthy of my excitement for it.