Christian Drouin Cidre Brut Grande Cuvee' 2014

Christian Drouin Cidre Brut Grande Cuvee' 2014

This delicious unctuous cidre pours a medium golden ochre color with nice clarity and tons of tiny bottom rising bubbles that create a finger of foam on the pour.  Initially the nose invites you in with nice baked apple that on deeper inhale exudes layers of woody forest funk, light barnyard characteristics and subtle smoked deli meat.  On the palate the flavors are rich and pronounced with a medium to full mouthfeel adding depth and complexity to the already complex flavor profile. The harmony of skin to juicy flesh apple notes are fine tuned and play nice counterbalance with the flash adding texture weight and a slight fruity baked apple focus. To contrast that the skin adds a spicy tannic bitterness that integrates seamlessly opening the palate to more intricate nuances of garden thyme, white pepper, chamomile, baking spices and a touch of twig tea lingers in the finish. 

Twelve Beers of Christmas - Night One

Harvey's Christmas Ale

2012 Vintage

It was on a Christmas Eve that the bottle forager decided to crack a beer that was slapped with a Santa Claus image. It went down very nicely with the Gingerbread cookies and few fingers of bourbon that we left for daddy, cough cough I mean Santa. It also kept me good company while spending an hour or two in the cellar putting together wooden toys for under the tree!

Either way the beer put me in the spirit and although the flavor profile was a bit past its prime and nothing to bellow through the town center waking the beer masses and telling them to "buy this beer" it suited my palate just fine on the eve of Christmas 2018.

Toffee, raisin, light red fruits, orange peel, leather, salted caramel, old pipe tobacco, anise.