Red Branch Hard Lemonade

There is a very unassuming little bar in Sunnyvale called Rabbit's Food Meadery. I first went there about a year ago with some coworkers because I read the outstanding reviews on Yelp and we were curious what all the fuss was about. They offer a tasting of a few different meads, beers, and hard ciders for about $5, so we all tried that. Everything they had was good, but what really blew us away was the cider. They usually have 2 or 3 different ciders on tap and they sell 500 ml bottles. My husband has never even been to the bar, but he's hooked on the hard apple cider, which they sell at Jane's Beer Store and Savvy Cellar in downtown Mountain View.

I was at the bar last week with coworkers again, and I had the last of the peach cider on tap. I also took a few bottles to go, including the hard lemonade. Today we opened it up and if the only hard lemonade you ever had was Mike's, you are in for a treat. There is a base of apple cider, which provides fruitiness and a little sweetness. Then there's a tart lemon flavor on top of it. Red Branch cider is already one of the less sweet ciders I've had, which is something I really like about it, but this extra tartness in the lemonade is really nice.

They make these ciders with honey, and they are able to make them stronger than you might think, around 7%. The problem is, they don't taste like they have that much alcohol in them. They go down like juice, actually, so you have to be thinking about that when you drink them. Otherwise you'll get into trouble. If you live in the area, check out the meadery, taste everything they have, then buy Red Branch cider whenever you see it. This is great local stuff.