I headed out on a soggy Santa Fe summer night to find some New Mexican cider and came across the New Mexico Hard Cider Taproom just a couple blocks south of the City Center and walkable from almost all central hotels in town. It is tucked in just behind a co-op and one of the fancy highbrow restaurants that dot the adobe-clad Santa Fe landscape. Walking in from the rain I was greeted with a warm atmosphere of twenty and thirty-somethings enjoying their Friday night. There were boisterous cheers coming from the pool room where bragging rights were clearly on the line. Guys hitting on girls, girls hitting on guys. Bar tenders in deep conversation yacking away with the patrons. The two people sitting next to me realized that one worked with the others sister and then a group began to reminisce over the heyday of a fallen local mall—and almost all of them dogging on Texans. This was clearly a place where locals felt at ease.

The décor inside was nice with exposed brick and local artwork for sale on the walls. Plenty of patio seating for dryer times. In one corner there were a couple of snug shabby chic wing-backed chairs for those that wanted a slightly more sophisticated spot to conversate with friends. But there were also plenty of high tops and a long proper bar with TVs showing both the Olympics and the Simpsons. They had a handful of ciders on tap, both sweet and dry, plus a number of fruit flavors, as well as beer and spirits. I found out they use as many local apples as they can from a couple of nearby orchards and then supplement with juice from out of state. They have also done a community picking apple event that gets pressed into cider in their factory on the south side of town.

The night I came I got to talk to William, the brother of Craig Moya who owns the taproom and serves in the firefighting community. I got to hear the really cool story of their roots in the small town of Galisteo and how Craig stumbled into the industry “10 years ago cider wasn’t a thing in New Mexico.” It is clear New Mexico Hard Cider has come a long way since then. The ciders were great—their Apricot was my favorite of the night—and they have pop-up kitchens serving crazy good food, so you need to check them out if you’re a local or just visiting the Land of Enchantment.