The Cider

Bottled Hard Cider from Distillery Lane CiderworksMaking the Cider

Our handcrafted hard ciders are naturally tart, aromatic, and have a distinctive mouth-feel. Dry to off-dry, our ciders are clean and refreshing, but never sweet, featuring unique European and vintage American cider apples grown on our family-owned orchard.

DLC Hard Cider Varieties:

Sparkling Ciders
Celebration Cider - Hard Cider Celebration Cider– Our semi-sweet sparkling Celebration Cider is perfect for just that—a celebration!  We blend juice from modern and vintage apple varieties to produce this rich, full-bodied, tart and medium sweet hard cider. Serve in a champagne glass and enjoy the bubbles. Our Celebration Cider can also be found on tap in selected local establishments.
 Kingston Black Sparkling Hard Cider  Kingston Black Sparkling– It is rare among the hundreds of apple varieties grown today that one apple has proper amounts of sugar, acid, and tannins to make a high-quality, single varietal cider. Kingston Black, an apple first grown in Somerset, England, is one of these rare apples. Highly prized, but scarcely cultivated in America today, Kingston Black grows very well in our orchard.  It has a wonderful tartness and lovely finish. Serve chilled with poultry, mild fish or pork.
 Traditional Dry Sparkling Hard Cider  Traditional Dry Sparkling– Our Traditional Dry Sparkling Cider is made from a blend of English, French, and American cider apple varieties. The blend of apples gives our ciders the right combination of acid, tannins, and sugar to make fine hard cider.  We take the well-balanced cider blend and allow it to finish the fermentation process in the bottles (similar to bottle-conditioned craft beers). The result is a fully dry, sparkling beverage that is perfect for a hot summer day or an evening toast. Many people have commented that this hard cider is very similar to champagne.
 Woodberry Hard Cider  Woodberry– This special label cider was developed specifically for Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore, MD as the perfect complement to their savory, locally sourced menus. A blend of apples and aronia berry juice, this cider has a terrific berry aroma, tart apple and sweet berry flavor with a touch of acidity, and our signature dry finish. Lively bubbles toss the bright flavor across the palate with each drink.
  Still Ciders
 American Extra Dry Hard Cider  America Extra Dry–Our American Extra Dry hard cider is crisp, light, and fully dry. It is minimally processed to retain as much apple character as possible. It is made from a blend of juice from modern American apple varieties such as Liberty, Goldrush, and Freedom, along with juice from vintage sharp and bittersweet apples. This cider is perfect as the accompaniment to cheese, crackers and fruit. It is also ideal for mixing with your favorite liqueur.
 Sidra Montana Sur hard cider  Sidra Montana Sur–(South Mountain Cider) is crafted in the style of ciders from the Basque region of Spain. The malolatic fermentation gives our Sidra a light, sharply tart front reminiscent of a sour beer with a touch of acidity and hint of fruit. Refreshing and still, buttery notes join our signature dry finish on the end of each drink.
 Seasonal Ciders
spring blossom Spring Blossom — Cherry Blossoms are a harbringer of Spring. The juice from fresh local cherries is blended with juice from our specialty apples and fermented together to make this refreshing sparkling wine that is a perfect beginning for any gathering.
 Summer Buzz Hard Cider Summer Buzz–Our cyser is all DLC apples and local honey. An aromatic nose opens into a crisp cider boasting bright apple and honey notes and a weightier mouth-feel. A light sweetness finishes clean with a kick of the 11% a.b.v. on the end. Serve chilled. Pair it with a light salad or a tart pie.
 Winterfest Apple Wine Winterfest– In the style of an ice cider, we concentrate the juice from a blend of our outstanding apple varieties. This process enhances body, aroma, and flavor. We ferment this rich blend to produce a sweet hard cider that is perfect for after dinner or anytime enjoyment.
 Aged Ciders
 DLC Hard Cider DLC–Our namesake, Distillery Lane, is the street that led to the Mountain Spring
Distillery, considered the finest rye whiskey in America. We aged our house blend
of cider in charred oak rye whiskey barrels. Bottled off dry, this smooth, light cider
has cream and honey undertones and a hint of oak. Serve chilled, but not cold.
2014 GLINTCAP Silver Medal Winner.
 Mount Vernon Heritage Apple Hard Cider Heritage Apple–Made from a blend of American heritage apples including Roxbury Russet, Newtown Pippin and Hewes Crab, Heritage was developed specifically for the Mount Vernon Ladies Association. These apples were grown in colonial Virginia by George Washington in the orchard at Mount Vernon. We aged this cider in charred oak barrels as it would have been in Washington’s time.
Smooth and light, enjoy this cider cool with fowl or seafood.
 The Jefferson hard cider The Jefferson– Thomas Jefferson was a renowned cidermaker and orchardist in his time. One of his favorite apples was the Newtown Pippin, an apple first grown in New York. Historically, this apple was exported in large quantities to Great Britain (the Queen liked Newtown Pippins so much that British Parliament lifted the import duty only on this apple variety). It is no surprise that the Queen liked the Newtown Pippins so much: on a trip to Europe, Jefferson once notoriously declared, “they have no apples here to compare with our Newtown Pippin!” For our hard cider, The Jefferson, we press Newtown Pippins, along with other vintage cider apples, to create an off-dry cider. The cider is also aged with American oak to achieve an old-time flavor, reminiscent of the oak barrels that Jefferson would have used when brewing his ciders. The Jefferson is perfect with smoked fish and meat. 2014 GLINTCAP gold medal winner.
 Kingston Black Hard Cider  Kingston Black– Our Kingston Black cider is aged in Smith Bowman Distillery oak Bourbon
barrels producing a smooth cider with hints of oak and vanilla. Pair it with anything or nothing, it goes down easy. Serve cool, but not cold.
2014 International Women’s Wine Competition bronze medal winner.
 Fresh Non-Alcoholic Cider
Fresh Cider Fresh Cider– Our fresh cider is made from the same fresh-pressed juice blends as our hard ciders, but it is not put through the fermentation process. As a result, it is non-alcoholic. The specific blends of juices vary from week to week, depending on what apples are ripened and pressed that week. Our fresh cider is refreshing served cold on a hot, late-summer day or heated and spiced during the crisper autumn months.Our fresh cider is UV treated to eliminate any potentially harmful bacteria. We do not sell unpasteurized juice to retail customers.