Cider Spotlight!

Sage Bird Long Night

$26.99 for the 375ml bottle
Bourbon Barrel-Aged Pommeau

What do you get when you mix a graphic designer, an Education grad student, and their desire to save money … apparently, you eventually get this cider.

In 2014, Zach and Amberlee Carlson were newly married JMUers living in Harrisonburg. Zach was working as a graphic designer, and Amberlee was pursuing her masters in education. Looking to cut spending and to enjoy a do-it-themselves project together, they wondered at the feasibility of making their own alcohol. It is with such small steps that long journeys begin.

Their first attempt at mead went as poorly as first attempts can go. Forays into beer and wine followed, and then the duo turned to cider, which stuck. The next six years included classes at Portland State University (for Zach); an internship at Richmond’s Blue Bee (also for Zach); and a self-refurbished, old, screw-style apple press discovered through a yard sale.

Finally, in 2020, the Carlsons opened Sage Bird Ciderworks, Harrisonburg’s first cidery. Of course they installed the trim and built their bar. At this point, if you told us that the Carlsons started making their own clothes three years ago, we’d believe you. We can hardly believe this cider, though.

The Long Night is Sage Bird’s pommeau — a fortified apple wine. Now, Sage Bird uses only VA apples, and for this cider, that means Dabinett and Harrison. Like you would do with wines like port, Sage Bird takes the cider and fortifies it with un-aged brandy made from their flagship Dry River Reserve Cider. Unlike what you do with port, Sage Bird then takes the fortified cider and ages it in bourbon barrels from Fredericksburg’s pride, A. Smith Bowman — Virginia’s oldest distillery.

Though most of Sage Bird’s ciders are dry, the fortification raises the alcohol level such that the yeast goes dormant before it can finish converting the Dabinett and Harrison sugars. The resultant pommeau is sweet, but not so sweet that it keeps the malic acid from mixing with the bourbon bite. Sage Bird is dead on in their description — “strong notes of stewed apple, butterscotch, caramel, vanilla, berry, and brandy on the nose and palate with a natural assertive sweetness, balanced tannin, and warming alcohol.”

Yes, that. All of that. It’s like the sweet / tart / caramel mix you get from a cake with coconut pecan frosting. Man! Do we love a pommeau, and we love that the Long Night is such an engagingly layered one.

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