COMPARATIVE LIT ESSAY:
After trying Emerald City alongside a couple of other blackberry ciders, these past two years I have felt confident saying that it is the best blackberry cider I’ve ever had. Well, in going over my notes, I realized that none of its blackberry challengers also had pear, and this shook my confidence. Did Emerald City just always win because it had that extra element? And let’s face it pear and blackberry is a killer combo and the perfect mix of soft and sweet with tart and tangy. So, I needed to make sure it wasn’t just combo bias that Emerald City always came out on top and I wanted to put it to the test by comparing it with another blackberry pear, in this case, also from the Pacific Northwest. So how do they compare?
Emerald City is about three shades darker in the glass which I find more appealing over the cranberry colored Voodoo Blackberry. Emerald City also has a deeper nose of blackberries that is earthy and slightly jammy, which, again, I found preferable to the lighter, tarter, nose of cranberries found in the Voodoo. Emerald City is fairly heavy, whereas Voodoo has a lighter body. The Voodoo is smoother, but the Emerald City’s mouthfeel is on point as its tartness and acidity are perfectly balanced. Emerald City also has a more intense blackberry and pear flavor where Voodoo only gives a generically fruity feel without clear blackberry or pear notes. The Voodoo is also pretty sweet which has a slight artificiality to it. There is no doubt Emerald City is also sweet, but it is better balanced with bold flavors.
Emerald City then retains its blackberry title. Yes, the blending with pears gives it an added element and advantage over other blackberry ciders in my grade book, but it is still an all around superior drink. In fact, I’m a little sad that I just drank my last Emerald City of the season and now I’ll have to wait like 6 months until they next release it and I can have another. I really wish it was available every season. It truly is excellent.