Yankee Cider Company

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

Rule of 3 Brewing

When: June 1st, 2025

Where: 201 W. High St, East Hampton, CT

Rule of 3 Brewing’s taproom is located in an industrial park in East Hampton and has a warehouse atmosphere. The taproom is quite large with a good amount of seating and a decent-sized patio out back that is dog-friendly. Unfortunately, there is a large construction project just out back, so the view is not a good one. There were a multitude of games for people to play while drinking their beer. The owners must be college sports fans as the brewery is decorated with flags from different colleges like UCONN, Notre Dame, and Syracuse. There was a good amount of variety in their alcohol options with stouts, sours, IPAs, lagers, and even some cider and seltzer options.

Chris: I was happy that Rule of 3 had a couple stouts for me to try so I decided to get a flight. My favorite was the Wookie Cookie Stout, which was a collaboration with Concentric Brewing. It was very alcoholic, at 11%, but was still smooth and sweet. I was also a fan of the Oktoberfest Marzen which had a little sweetness and hop taste to it. Overall, there were some good beers but nothing that really stood out.

Nick: I thought the Measure Thrice Sour was good, it’s a blood orange sour and had a really nice tart but juicy profile. Stouts are generally a mixed bag for me, but I found that I liked their Coffee Stout, the Heckyl & Clyde. It had a nice flavor, and I felt like you could really smell and taste the oatmeal, maple, and coffee.

Other cool things:

  • Trivia nights
  • Beer to-go
  • Merch
  • Mug club

What we drank:

Chris: Wookie Cookie (Stout) 11.1%- 3.75 out of 5

Chris: Oktoberfest (Marzen) 6.7%- 3.75 out of 5

Nick: Measure Thrice (Sour) 4.5%- 4 out of 5

Nick: Heckyl & Clyde(Stout)6.9%- 3.75 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion:

Beer: 3.5 out of 5

Location: 3 out of 5

Atmosphere: 3 out of 5

Arrigoni Winery & Cider Company

When: May 10th, 2025

Where: 1287 Portland-Cobalt Rd, Portland, CT

Named after the Arrigoni Bridge, connecting Middletown and Portland, Arrigoni Winery & Cider Company is located in Portland, Connecticut and offers a wide range of wine and cider. Nick and I made our trips to Arrigoni specifically for their self described “New England Ciders.” Walking into their location you will see their store selling a large assortment of wine merch with glasses, bottle openers, tote bags, and more. They have a large indoor and outdoor seating area that makes it perfect for warm weather events. The tasting room offers a large number of options and specially catered cider flights with low and high percentage ciders and apple wines.

Chris: I was excited to try all the different ciders that Arrigoni had to offer as I am a cider fanatic. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of wine and most of the ciders offered at Arrigoni tasted just like wine. My preference on ciders is sweet and semi-sweet varieties, and pretty much all of the offerings at Arrigoni were dry and semi-dry. That being said, the Great Pumpkin wasn’t bad although I wish the pumpkin flavor was stronger, and Maple Madness was a little sweeter than the others. The rest of the bunch was very very dry with not much flavor. Considering that Arrigoni does not change out their ciders, I don’t see a reason to go back.

Nick: I visited Arigoni Winery with some friends who are all big cider fans, and unfortunately, we were disappointed with the selection. While the venue itself is lovely—especially the outdoor seating—it’s clear that the focus is still very much on wine. None of the ciders we tried hit the mark. The Plain Jane, a vanilla cider, was especially overpowering, and while the Blue G was probably the best of the bunch, it still wasn’t something I’d go back for. I wanted to love these ciders, but the Arigoni offerings fell flat overall.

What we drank:

Chris: Signature (Cider) 6.2% – 2 out of 5

Chris: Great Pumpkin (Cider) 6.4% – 3.5 out of 5

Chris: Maple Madness (Cider) 6.1% – 3.5 out of 5

Nick: Plain Jane (Cider) 6.7% – 2 out of 5

Nick: Blue G (Cider) 6.7% – 3 out of 5

Other cool things:

  • Host weddings and other events
  • Lots of events
  • Wine and craft beer available
  • Large store

Brewing Persuasion:

Cider: 2.5 out of 5

Location: 3.5 out of 5

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5