Did you know that cider can taste of bananas? Canteloupe? Vanilla? What makes this all the more astounding is that the drink contains only apples and yeast. So what accounts for the variety in flavor?
According to Daniel Haykin, co-proprietor of the new Haykin Family Cider, it’s all about the apple. Each variety — over 7,000 are grown worldwide — has a unique flavor profile. The mastery is in capturing and bottling its essence, Haykin’s stated goal.
He and his wife Talia opened the cidery last month. The tasting room is located in Aurora, 12001 E. 33rd Ave., Unit D, and is currently open Thursday and Saturday evenings. The cider is certified kosher by Scroll K.
The inception was in Daniel’s “obsessive” personality, the couple jokes. He has dabbled in pickling and gardening. Cider was the next step.
“I was the person at farmers markets measuring apple varietals for their sugar content,” he laughs. Not only did he develop his knowledge of — and passion for — the fruit, but he made key contacts with local suppliers. Nearly all the apples used in the cider are sourced from two Colorado suppliers, Ela Family Farms on the Western Slope and Masonville Orchards outside of Fort Collins.
Daniel treats his cider much as a vintner would. Indeed, he came to cider via the desire to create a sparkling wine in the style of prosecco, a dry Italian sparkling wine similar to Champagne. The process, it turned out, was the same. And the couple fell in love with cider so much, that the prosecco was forgotten. The beautiful stainless steel equipment imported from Italy could be used to produce sparkling wine — and the license is the same — but for now, they’re sticking with cider.
“It’s important for me that whatever I do, I’m executing it at a high level,” says Daniel.
That means extensive research and experimentation. Attention to detail is probably what helped them garner accolades across the cider world, among them a first in class (category, Modern Sweet) at the 2017 Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition.
That success, the couple says, “is what gave us the confidence to make this a commercial venture.”
Especially important for Daniel was “getting positive feedback from my idols,” the professionals who judge the competitions.
The tasting room mirrors the couple’s vision for a small batch, local product. Much of the décor is sourced locally, including the wood for the bar. Decorating the wall are prints of apple varietals — some of which are no longer cultivated — from the US Dept. of Agriculture’s Pomological Watercolor Collection, commissioned between 1886 and1942. Production and storage are on site. Even the sparkling water on tap is local — from Eldora.
Going kosher, the couple says, was important to them so their kosher-observant friends could imbibe the cider and spend time at the cidery. It fits their ethos — which is reflected by the inclusion of the word “family” in Haykin Family Cider.
Indeed they see the cidery as an “extension of our family,” says Talia, a place where their family and friends can hang out — and work.
Daniel and Talia are not giving up their day jobs — Daniel is an investment advisor, Talia works in marketing — quite yet. But they do envision the cidery growing as a partner with other local purveyors and as an event space, as well as by extending their tasting room hours.
For Daniel, however, it is paramount that the quality remain the same. He’s passionate about customers leaving with an excellent experience, from the quality of the cider itself to the surroundings and service. To these ends, he curates the changing menu and guides customers through flavor profiles and provenance.
One cider, for example, is made from Thomas Jefferson’s favorite apple — Esopus Spitzenburg — which is still grown at Monticello, Jefferson’s plantation in Virginia. According to Daniel, all the founding fathers made cider, a trend that slowly changed with the significant migration from Germany during the middle of the 19th century.
That’s just one example of the kind of information you’ll walk away with from Haykin Family Cider. It’s all part of the warm, fuzzy feeling engendered, first and foremost, through the excellent cider.
Haykin Family Cider is available at Proper Pour in The Source, Joy Wine and Spirits and Pearl Wine.
Shana Goldberg may be reached at shana@ijn.com
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