There I was, minding my own business on a Saturday afternoon in the store, when this woman comes in with a bag full of apples and aks me if I’m Andy. Not knowing whether to own up to it or not, I decided to take a chance and apply in the affirmative. She smiled, stuck out her hand and introduced herself as Judith Maloney, the woman who makes my cider. West County Winery cider to be exact. She was in the neighborhood and thought she’d stop by to thank me for selling her outrageously delicious product.
West County Winery cider is from the Berkshires, and is amazingly fresh and refreshing . I used to carry the “real thing” from Normandy, but I found that it just didn’t travel well — it was tired by the time it got to me from France. So when I was introduced to a great cider from just up the road a few hours, I jumped on it. What’s also neat about her ciders is that they are bottled varietal-specific. So there are five different bottlings; Baldwin, Macintosh, Redfield (it’s rose-colored because the flesh is red), Kingston Black and Roxbury. They’re all terrific, and the bonus is that the alcohol content hovers around 5%. It makes the perfect accompaniment to turkey and all that food that makes you want to fall asleep immmediately after dinner. At least the alcohol won’t contribute to the narcolepsy.
As she was saying goodbye, she layed a half dozen apples on me, and then went on her way. We sauteed those babies up that night to go with our sausages, and they were caramelly, creamy and out of this world. Hey, Judith, drop by anytime!
