Freshly Pressed

SIPPING CIDER IN WESTERN NY

Over a dozen cider mills, both large and small, craft their own cider throughout the Western New York region; some even focus on just hard cider. For the later, Edible Manhattan provides a map and suggests several Western New York cideries and tasting rooms worth a visit.

In 2018, Contributor Christine Smyczynski and her daughter visited a number of cider mills to sample a few of their products. Their favorites are included below.

ABOUT APPLE CIDER

Since cider is made from freshly pressed apples, drinking an 8-ounce glass of cider offers many of the same benefits as eating an apple. As a matter of fact, a serving of sweet cider, which is 100 percent juice, counts as eating a fruit, with about the same number of calories. Cider actually gets its brown color from the tiny bits of apple skin and flesh floating in the juice that turn brown, just like fresh apples do when they are cut.

Cider makers wash the apples, grind them into a chunky pulp consistency, and then press this pulp to extract the cider. Next, it’s pasteurized or treated with ultraviolet light, as required by New York State food safety laws, then bottled. Cider is perishable, like milk, so it must be refrigerated.

Hard cider, also known as craft cider, is made by fermenting fresh-pressed apple juice. Similar to wine, it can range from dry to sweet and be still or bubbly.

OUR FAVORITES

While every single mill we visited offered exceptional cider, I chose a half-dozen places to highlight here—most of which feature cider plus a whole lot more. Information on additional mills can be found in the sidebar. Please call ahead if coming from any distance as hours fluctuate seasonally.

Smith’s Orchard

4960 Mapleton Rd, Pendleton; 716-625-4316; smithsorchard.com; open September–November, Friday–Sunday 9am–5pm. This place is one of my favorites, and lucky for me it’s also the closest to my home. Their cider is made using a combination of apple varieties and is preservative free. I really enjoy their apple cider slushies and others must like them, too, as Smith’s recently added more slushie machines to their operation. They also now offer yummy apple cider donuts. Apples are available for purchase by the bag or basket. Or, if you’re really ambitious, you can pick your own apples from their orchard.

Blackman Homestead Farms

4472 Thrall Rd, Lockport; 716-434-7116; blackmanhomesteadfarm.com; blackmancider.com; companybtastingroom.com

In my quest to discover the best places to enjoy cider in the area, I discovered Blackman Homestead Farms in Lockport. I savored their cider; it tasted just like eating an apple. Six generations of the Blackman family have owned and operated this 160-acre farm, which was established in 1852. From the parking area along the road, take a short stroll to their market building, which has sweet cider and fruit juice, along with jams, chili sauces, and other bottled treats. Outside this building there are bins of apples and pears, with many varieties to choose from. You can also pick your own in the orchard if you desire. Additionally, they make premium hard ciders from heirloom apples, which are sold at the farm, at Farmers & Artisans in Snyder and the new Company B Tasting Room on Buffalo's West Side. 

Sanger Farms & Bakery

852 Youngstown-Lockport Rd, Youngstown; 716-765-7297; sangerfarm.com

Another place I discovered in my travels was Sanger Farms & Bakery, a fourth-generation family farm. They make their own fresh-pressed apple cider, and grow a variety of apples, which you can purchase already picked or pick your own on weekends during the harvest season. In addition, you can enjoy homemade baked goods like cookies, tarts and pies. If I hadn’t already eaten lunch before arriving at Sanger’s, I definitely would have checked out their Back Barn Café, which serves breakfast, lunch, pizza and fresh fruit smoothies.

Red Barrel Cider Mill

8978 Boston State Rd, Boston; 716-941-5959

Their motto is “We squeeze to please since 1967.” It’s an ideal destination if you want to take a drive in the country to see fall foliage. I would describe this place as simple and genuine. They don’t have a lot of stuff, just tasty cider, apples, pumpkins, popping corn, maple syrup and a variety of jams. Their theme is red barrels, just like their name, so you’ll see a lot of them in their décor inside and out.

Mayer Brothers

1540 Seneca Creek Rd, West Seneca; 716-668-5260; mayerbrothers.com

Founded in 1852, this family-run operation is probably the best-known cider mill in the area. Besides their cider, they also sell a variety of donuts, pies, candied apples and even cider slushies. The gift shop also has jams, cheese, syrup, candy and more. Don’t want to make the trip to the cider mill? You can find Mayer Brothers Cider at local grocery stores and a number of farm markets that don’t have their own cider operations.

BlackBird Cider Works

8503 Lower Lake Rd, Barker; 716-795-3580; blackbirdciders.com

I have to admit that until recently I didn’t think that I liked hard cider, mainly because I didn’t realize that there are different types of hard cider, from sweet to dry, just like there are different types of wine and beer. Years ago, when hard cider was first starting to gain popularity in supermarkets, I tried it and found it bitter, somewhat like an IPA. Some may like it, but it’s just not my taste.

So, when my daughter and I arrived at BlackBird Cider Works, in rural Niagara County with Lake Ontario in the distance, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The man at the tasting bar explained that the ciders range from sweet to dry. Since we like sweeter beverages, he gave us several samples of the sweeter hard ciders, all of which were delicious! Between 10–12 ciders are typically available to taste and purchase in their tasting room, and you can find their new Lakeside Loganberry in cans at Wegmans.

BlackBird recently opened a second location, Buffalo Cider Hall, located in the Linde Air Building at 155 Chandler Street in the Black Rock neighborhood of Buffalo.