When: June 1st, 2025
Where: 23 Petticoat lane, East Haddam, CT
Yankee Cider Company was started as the Staehly Tree Farm in 1985 as a Christmas tree farm. In 2014, they added wine to their products and opened their cider and wine taproom in 2019. The taproom is located in a renovated old barn, which gives it a very New England feel. Staehly Farms owns and operated Yankee Cider Company, and they produce many of the fruits for their products for a farm to glass approach. The inside of the barn is decently large, but there is a lot more seating outside and even some firepits to hang around. We were very glad that their taproom had flights as Yankee Cider has a huge variety with 12 ciders and 6 wines on tap with lots of to-go options.
Chris: I’ve had Yankee cider a few times now and I’ve always appreciated their huge variety and willingness to experiment. They have your typical flavors with sweet to dry options, but they also have ciders you won’t find anywhere else. Cider flavors like peanut butter, chocolate strawberry, or snickers. The experiments don’t always work out, but it keeps me coming back to try them. From what I’ve had, my favorite was the Chocolate Strawberry which tasted exactly how it sounds and was definitely on the sweetish side. Caramel Apple Cider Donut was also pretty good, but I wish it was as sweet as the name suggested.
Nick: Yankee Cider isn’t too far away from where I live, and they have their cider on tap at a lot of breweries, including my local Brewery Niantic Public House. On this particular visit, we tried an assortment, and most of them were excellent. On this particular trip, my top two were the Honey and the Strawberry. But the Honeycrisp, Blueberry-Peach Cobbler, Peanut Butter, and Rochambeau Raspberry were not far behind. They have a great outdoor seating area and what had to be the most eclectic playlists I have encountered at a Taproom. East Haddam is a bit out of the way, but there are tons of different options for everyone to enjoy!
Other cool things:
- to-go wine and cider
- Snacks
- Local farm products for sale
- Weekly trivia
What we drank:
Chris: Chocolate Strawberry (Sweet) 6.7% – 4.5 out of 5
Chris: Caramel Apple Cider Donut (Spiced) 6.5% – 4 out of 5
Nick: Blueberry-Peach Cobbler (Sweet) 6.7% – 4.5 out of 5
Nick: Honeycrisp (Sweet) 6.9% – 4.5 out of 5
Brewing Persuasion:
Cider: 4.5 out of 5
Location: 3.5 out of 5
Atmosphere: 4 out of 5
Brewing Persuasions 