COMPARATIVE LIT ESSAY:
Grab your tri-corners, we’re trying two ciders whose back stories are set in England in the 1700s. 1763 pays tribute to cider riots that happened that year in the English West Country with a scrumpy that draws on a collection of cider apples largely found there. The other stems from a rare varietal produced by Dr. Ashmead in the cathedral town of Gloucester, also in the West Country of England, in around 1700. Despite having origins that more or less stem from Georgian England, they are night and day different. 1763 is dark, still, heavy and incredibly acidic. Ashmead’s Kernel is light, airy, delightful and surprisingly lemony. Does this reflect the events themselves? The English Cider Bill of 1763 produced dark times in England that ultimately brought down a prime minister and foreshadowed the riots in the North American colonies two years later with the Stamp Act. Dr. Ashmead, on the other hand, presumably lived a more care-free life wandering through his orchards. Regardless, 1763 can’t be recommended unless you like an acidic scrumpy whose most defining note is soapiness. Contrasted with that, Ashmead’s Kernel is immensely drinkable with tart but sweet notes that’ll have you sucking your tongue and wanting more. This duel goes to Ashmead’s Kernel as 1763 was clearly off the mark.