Basque cider.

[Nab]

Where I can purchase some online ?

I'm jonesin'.

[Sister Y]

Where have you had it? What is it like?

[Nab]

I had it earlier this year in the Basque country.

As I understand it, 'sidra natural' (aka sagardoa) ferments naturally without the inclusion of additional sugars. The wild yeast chows on the apple's sugar for a few months. It's seasonal, and from the months of Jan - March/April the people of the region celebrate cider before it's bottled by convening at 'sidrerias' where you drink right from the giant oak barrels. You take a tumbler and hold it down by the ground allowing for a good 4-foot drop from the spout, creating the head and releasing its bouquet.

It's got a slightly green tinge to its gold hue, and is almost entirely devoid of petillance (is that word?). Tasted nothing like other ciders I've had, particularly because it was not sweet (or bubbly) at all. It's apple tart with pretty heavy appleskin notes. I detected other more complex layers when I drank it right from the cask (more woody, obviously, but also a slight bitter aftertaste which I found quite tasty), but overall, I find it a pretty simple, straightforward flavour, showcasing the apples. Very easy-drinking though I believe it's EtOH content is around the 6-7% mark.

I'd kill for some. Luckily, I don't have to, because I found somebody who has managed to import it:

www.spanishtable.com

From their website:

"Bereziartua Apple Cider -- At last, it has arrived! Many of us have been waiting for years to get our hands on some genuine Basque sidra. This hard cider is unfiltered, cloudy, lightly effervescent and only barely sweet. Yeasty aroma and tart fermented apple flavor are what you want from this most ancient of drinks. In the Basque Country they drink it straight from the barrel from harvest time through the winter and then in spring and summer they drink the rest from bottles like those we have just received. When this stuff becomes wildly popular, remember, you heard it here first. $8.99"

[celeriac]

Nab: Sorry to be so thick, but can you explain where on their site you found that? I only see a cider vinegar, and I am dying to try some Basque cider.

By the way, Nab, depending on where you live you may want to try some of the better small regional ciders made in the states, some of them have a very similar flavor profile to what you describe. I live in New England, so I mostly know about the ciders made here. If you're in the Northeast, you might very much like Farnum Hill's ciders, which are available in varying levels of dryness, but they're all pretty dry. I'd say they range from just-barely-sweet to intensely dry and tannic.

[Nab]

Celeriac,

That's partly my fault that you couldn't find it on their website -- it's not on the actual website, but on the website's blog in this post:

http://spanishtable.wordpress.com/200...

And I really appreciate your suggestion of going domestic too. I have admittedly not tried many of these at all, and am most curious thanks to your note. I live in Austin but am thinking about ordering some from Farnum Hill's. Wish I would've known about them when I lived up in Boston !

Thanks.

[Das Ubergeek]

Love the "txotx" (pronounced "choach") -- where they smack the bung out of a barrel and people line up to "catch" the resulting spout of liquid in a line, with a buffet of good (and garlic-laden) food off on one side to fill you up between glasses.

[Josh]

What's so unique about it? How does it differ from Normandy cider?

[celeriac]

I have actually often wondered this myself. Unfortunately I've never found any, I'm not sure if it's imported at all. I'd appreciate any leads as well.