About
Shacksbury Cider makes dry, food friendly wild ciders in Vergennes, Vermont. We source over half of our apples from Sunrise Orchards in Vermont as well as old, abandoned orchards throughout the Champlain Valley. We also work with Dragon Orchard in England and Petritegi Sagardoa in Spain. Our fermentations are slow and deliberate. We rarely use added sulfites. We prefer native yeast / wild fermentations and bottle condition via methode ancestrale or methode champenoise whenever possible. At Shacksbury, we believe cider can, and should, be daring and complex. From gnarled trees on New England farmsteads to Old World orchards in England and Spain, our cider will change the way you think about this amazing fruit.
Filter & sort
Show
SaltyGrog (5069) reviewed
Imagine That from Shacksbury
5 years ago
5.2/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 4 Flavor 5 Texture 8 Overall 5
Bottle from the mail club. Kolsch glass @home. Dusty, Miller Time body & fizzy weak head. Second pour is heavier on the mud. Smells of macerated, oxidized, briny & faintly horsey apples. Taste is very puckering. Estery, gummy, lots of lemon juice-like acidic flesh, with lingering pickle brine & a fleeting Sidra/wild fermented tone on the end, but milder then other funky bottles they've made. Maybe a little floral. Very dry of course. Feel is frothy, like unfiltered fresh apple cider. Alcohol is fine. Yeasty/chalky, very sharp, makes your teeth clench a bit. Wears on you after a while. Have had better from Shacksbury.
Tried from Bottle on 26 Feb 2021 at 22:21
SaltyGrog (5069) reviewed
Deer Snacks IV from Shacksbury
5 years ago
6.5/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 4 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7
Can from Appalachian. Tasty Bev pint glass. Soft, weak, soapy head, hazy pale amber pour. Sour apple/green melon/berries, active fermentation, grass. Nothing super inviting. Soft, green/unripe & aspirin bitterness. Lingering pith, subdued Sidra funk as it warms, but can be almost totally avoided when cold. Very dry, very thin, quite bitter. Foamy & almost non-existant carbonation, creeping acid that also lingers, moderate to strong booze. Slightly better/rounder in the can. A bit harsh, but plays good fan service.
Tried from Can on 25 Feb 2021 at 03:36
SaltyGrog (5069) reviewed
Wedded Bliss from Shacksbury
5 years ago
6/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 5 Flavor 6 Texture 8 Overall 6
Bottle from Shackbury. Unspecific label with handwritten specs. Lowball @home. Googling says this was produced in 2017. Creamy gold, low head. Smells of sharp apples, stinky socks, cheese, yeasties, gum. Natural fermentation is not my thing. Anything Shackbury leaves up to the wild isn't as raunchy. Taste is thin, dry, low carb, skin-y, incredibly tannic & bitter apples, pear floral, plastic, fusels. Strong acid. Not much tartness. Way boozier than the 6.9% tax evasion on the label. Oxidation on the finish. Past it's prime, but strong, potent & solid if an imperial Sidra is your thing.
Tried from Bottle on 17 Jan 2021 at 02:02
SaltyGrog (5069) reviewed
Champlain from Shacksbury
5 years ago
6.5/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Bottle from the club. Weisse glass @home. Silly eggshell head. Dusty marmalade body. Dusty, yogurt-y, tannic apple nose, lingering ring of head. Yeasty juice, skin, chalky, thick, faintly tart, twang like it's maybe going to turn. This needs more time to settle. Not ready. 2020 y'all!
Tried from Bottle on 01 Jan 2021 at 03:16
SaltyGrog (5069) reviewed
Yuzu Lo-Ball from Shacksbury
5 years ago
7.5/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 7
8oz cans from the the interwebs. Whiskey glass @home. Laquered, dark amber body. Smells lightly of whiskey, passion fruit & burnt orange rind. Sweet, but inviting aromatics. Taste is dry, acidic, faintly tart apples, orange oil, faint cherry/passion fruit. Low carb to still. Thin, very easy. Not a fan of how it's made, but it's a tasty apple cocktail.
Tried from Can on 31 Dec 2020 at 22:44
SaltyGrog (5069) reviewed
Brewery Bhavana Collaboration from Shacksbury
5 years ago
7.9/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8.5
Bottle from the cider club. NB goblet @ home. Opaque, dark gold & heady. Smells of a good, earthy, deep & dry French cider, though it is not. Taste is a mix of wild, acidic apples & pungent Sidra. It is very sharp. Apricot, pineapple, tea astringency, brine, bit of cheese. Pretty dry. Reminds me of Petrus somewhat. Good carbonation, very bright, residual yeast. A little sappy. Not too much funk. Tasty.
Tried from Bottle on 27 Dec 2020 at 23:25
allinthenameofbeer (11494) ticked
Lost And Found (2015) from Shacksbury
5 years ago
8/10
Age explains the mild funk and sulfur hints on the nose, real nice mellow sweetness upfront and a tight dry finish.
Tried from Bottle on 22 Dec 2020 at 20:46
SaltyGrog (5069) reviewed
Momofuku Rosé from Shacksbury
5 years ago
7.5/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Can from the cidery. Stemless wine glass @ home. Filtered, peach tea color. Quick sizzle. Shacksbury adds natural components to the newer line of offerings. This smells a little like the cherry & orange cocktail blend they use in Low-ball. It's very good, it's subtle, but it's a bit of a cheat code to mimic what they want. Good, acidic apples & some sort of grape component make up the rest. It's more floral & deeper then their standard Rose. Floral, bittersweet turning towards full sweet apple, solid acid, burnt orange, cherry cordial, only lightly tart. Weak carbonation. Slight slickness. Aspirin finish. Prefer the regular rose a tad. Good, if disingenuous. They make good cider without the additives.
Tried from Can on 19 Dec 2020 at 01:23
SaltyGrog (5069) reviewed
Lo-Ball from Shacksbury
5 years ago
6.4/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 5 Flavor 6 Texture 8 Overall 6.5
Pounder from Appalachian. Also available in cute 8oz cans. Tasty Bev glass @ home. Classy, clear amber brew with oddly lingering lace. Smells of toasted orange, marachino cherries, a few drops of whiskey. All very soft & inoffensive despite being natural flavor additives. Flavor is low acid, creamy, oaky cider with hints of orange rind just like in Constant Comment tea. Faint touch of white sugar sweetness, weaker cherry & whiskey flavor than in the scent. A very mellow apple blend when compared to Shacksbury's other offerings. Little more than thin, with low carbonation. Mostly natural flavorings mixed with natural flavors & very quaffable overall, especially in the 8oz can. Drink very cold. Fun.
Tried from Can on 04 Dec 2020 at 21:57
SaltyGrog (5069) reviewed
People Power from Shacksbury
5 years ago
5.8/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 4 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6
Club bottle. NB glass @ home. Clear, filtered, soft pale gold brew. Scent is uninspired. White melon rind, unripe fruit, yeast, lysol. Green, acidic & bitter core apple flavor, lushed up by an unexpected buttery follow through. A little metal, more green bitterness on the finish. Slight slick sweetness. Moderate carbonation that falls fast. Gin was a little disappointing. None of these one offs have been as good as their core bottlings.
Tried from Bottle on 28 Oct 2020 at 00:43