Get it before it disappears from the shelves.
Photo courtesy Angry Orchard Cider
Company.

This may well be your last weekend to pick up seasonal summer hard ciders, before producers replace them with fall blends.

We received a shipment of Angry Orchard Elderflower Hard Cider, and have been saving it to serve this weekend.

Elderflower is a flower that in homeopathy as well as in cooking. The white berries are used to flavor jam and other cooked fruit; the tiny white flower blossoms are distilled into liqueur (elderflower cordial was enjoyed in ancient Rome), which in turn can be added to recipes.

We love the flavor of elderflower, which reminds us of lychee. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur is a favorite that we like to serve to guests, especially mixed with sparkling wine.

Now, for the first time, elderflower been added to cider, by Angry Orchard.
 
*ABV means alcohol by volume.

The finished product is pale yellow and 5% ABV*. Open the bottle and an apple aroma wafts up, along with elderflower floral.

Light and refreshing, the flavors of crisp apple marry with the elderflower to produce semi-dry sweetness with a bit of tartness. The cider pairs nicely with smoked salmon, braised pork and a fresh berry dessert.

You can also mix it into cocktails. Here are two from Hayley Jensen, a mixologist at Taproom No. 307 in New York City,

 
†Bittersweet apples are not edible, but do very nicely when fermented into cider. Culinary apples are the varieties we eat.

This drink is versatile: You can kick it up a notch with two ounces of any white liquor: cachaça, gin, rum, tequila or vodka.

Ingredients For 1 Drink

 
Preparation

1. POUR both over ice into a pint glass. Stir and serve.
 
RECIPE: ANGRY ELDERBERRY MOJITO

Ingredients For 1 Drink

1. MUDDLE berries and mint in a pint glass. Fill glass with ice. Add rum and cider.

2. POUR into mixing cup and stir. Pour back into pint glass and garnish with strawberry and mint leaves.