The Tonic

Bottoms Up

By Lynda Wheatley | June 2, 2018

For ’80s kids from the Detroit-area’s eastside burbs, it wasn’t autumn without a trek to Blake’s cider mill in Armada, Michigan. Class trips, family jaunts — you filled up on all the fall accoutrements at Blake’s: fresh-pressed cider, hot-from-the-oven-donuts, and just-plucked-from-the-tree apples. Well, much like us former banana-clip-and-corduroy-wearing kids, Blake’s is all growed up. Now cranking out award-winning wines and hard ciders, the multi-generational family farm and orchard has spread its branches into all seasons. And for summer, we highly recommend Blake’s The Tonic, a supremely light and refreshing elixir that mixes just a whisper of ginger and cucumber against a barely sweet cider body. It begs for multiple swigs and multiple cans, but maybe stop at two. At 6.5 percent ABV, The Tonic goes down so easy (and fast), it hits a little harder than a soft kid from the burbs might expect. We got ours at Tom’s West Bay, 13940 SW Bay Shore Dr., (231) 947-7290, but you can find them all over the North via Blake’s cider finder: blakeshardcider.com.