Having lived my entire life around the city of Buffalo, NY, I can attest that it has received more than its fair share of disparagement over the years. It’s long been the home of perennially uncompetitive sports teams, wildly mismanaged city government, highly segregated populations, failing school systems, and most notably, the chicken wing and beef on weck “sandwich”. But in recent years, Buffalo has shed it’s former identity as a failed city and has seen a renaissance, becoming the vibrant, architecturally interesting, quickly growing city that it was over a century ago. As a result, many new businesses have sprouted up, including a shockingly high number of craft breweries. While mostly producing a wide variety of beers, several cideries have popped up amongst their malty cousins. While located a bit outside of the city, BlackBird Ciderworks is one of these companies and I’m delighted to say that the wide variety of ciders they produce are invariably well crafted and creative.

BlackBird’s “Dry-Organic” cider is aptly named as it is just about as dry as a cider can get. The first and most notable taste is the distinct bitterness of the cider. But that bitterness quickly levels out and leaves a pleasant, fruity aftertaste. According to the can, this flavor is a hint of pear, though I’d be lying if I said I could distinguish this from the mild sweetness of the organic apples. This is a still, full-bodied cider with a relatively high ABV of 6.7%, though it is so smooth that the higher alcohol content is easily unnoticed. If a cider can be classified as distinguished, this would hit that mark. I plan to wallow in the pretentiousness this cider affords, lounging by a fire while listening to the dulcet tones of a classic Lester Young album. Outstanding.

4.75/5