Watson Wheeler Cider Kelly Stand

NEW! Burnt sugar, tart dried apricot, toasted vanilla, fresh tobacco. Kelley Stand is the road we use to access the Green Mountain National Forest for this 100% foraged and barrel-aged blend. It’s called Kelley Stand because of John William Kelley’s 19th century stagecoach inn that sheltered the loggers, back when that was the thriving industry of the area. The apples used in this cider come from the apple trees that can still be found in places where the old logging camps and homesteads once stood. If it weren’t for the conservation efforts of the GMNF to release these trees, they almost certainly wouldn’t provide enough fruit to feed the local wildlife, let alone wet your whistle. In exchange for access to these apples, we also lend a hand by returning to the trees at the end of the winter to collect the scion wood for grafting so that we can help prolong these unique species. And then when we get home and open one of these bottles, it’s hard not to imagine our ancestors enjoying something that would’ve been quite similar- 100% natural, 100% locally sourced, and perhaps most importantly- 100% well earned.