About 20 percent of Vermont apples are ground and pressed to make cider. The juice from these fresh apples is used to make at least four different products: sweet cider, hard cider, ice cider and distilled apple spirits.
Sweet Cider is made when apples are ground, pressed and filtered. Cider's natural sweetness and deep apple flavor set it apart from apple juice.
Visit Our Orchards Page for a List of Sweet Cider ProducersHard Cider is a traditional apple drink and one of the earliest beverages of the American colonies. Hard ciders range in alcohol content from about 4% to as much as 16% alcohol by volume (ABV).
Ice Cider is a relatively new dessert wine product made from frozen apples or frozen cider that is fermented to between 7% and 13% ABV. You can find more information on Vermont ice cider producers at vermonticecider.com
Within the last 25 years, Vermont distillers have rediscovered the qualities that apples lend to many distinctive beverages. Apple brandy, eau-de-vie and completely new beverages are now being created by Vermont distillers.