Two K Farms’ Spitzenburg Cider

Bottoms Up

By Lynda Wheatley | Sept. 12, 2020

Two K Farms’ 2018 Rosé and 2017 Riesling might have won at the prestigious by-invitation-only Jefferson Cup wine competition last year, but we suspect the cidery and winery’s 2019 Spitzenburg Cider is the libation that would win the approval of an even more impressive Jefferson’s cup — that of Thomas Jefferson, American statesman, architect, philosopher, Founding Father, and enthusiastic fan of Esopus Spitzenberg apples, “discovered,” as it were, by Dutch settlers in New York, circa 1770.

Turns out, much like Two K’s bro co-owners George and Max Koskela, the United States’ third president also devoted a big chunk of orchard at Monticello to cultivating those buttery yellow, incomparably sweet apples.

While we can’t comment on the cider Big J’s Spitzenburgs made, we can tell you the stuff the Two Ks have squeezed forth is as complex as the Founding Father himself, yet smooth, heady with fruity perfumes and a unique passionfruit taste, a light mouthfeel, and a zingy 6.9% ABV. We the people recommend you drink some. $15.99 for a six-pack. Find it at Two K Farms tasting room, 3872 SW Bay Shore Dr. in Suttons Bay, or online at www.twokfarms.com.