"They're scrumpy," declares Ben Sandler, describing some of the highly drinkable cider offerings from Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider, just one of the many different varieties and types of cider he and partner Jennifer Lim will offer at their new Lower East Side restaurant Wassail, opening tomorrow. Scrumpy? "It refers to 'scrumping,' an English tradition of hopping fences and stealing fruit from other people's trees!" he explains. "But scrumpy traditionally is an English cider that is unfiltered, very rustic, generally served at the farmhouse where it was made. Low alcohol, cloudy, yeasty." "Delicious," Lim chimes in.
There's a bit of a funny-sounding words theme at play here, from the name of the venue itself—a ritual that awakens and protects cider trees—to Summer of Rambo, not only the name of a cocktail on the menu but also a variety of apple. But the duo are serious about cider, having begun their love-affair with the drink at their other restaurant The Queens Kickshaw before deciding to go all-in on cider. They'll offer between 80 and 100 ciders at the new spot, from dry, tannic French brut ciders—"like a teabag in your mouth," says Lim—to funky, sweet varieties to a perry (made with pears) cider from Black Duck Cidery that "tastes exactly like celery."
"There's so many different kinds of cider," Sandler says. When designing their list, the duo wanted to represent each major cider-making region and then explore the nuances and scope inherent in each region. That includes the new wave of American producers, who're revitalizing the many heirloom varieties that were left for ruin during Prohibition. "In the United States, we have a history of cider-making that goes back to colonial times but it was cut short starting with the industrialization and a lot of beer drinking and people moving into the cities away from the rural areas."
While the majority of the list will focus on ciders made from apples, there are a few odd ducks in bunch, including a cider cold fermented with carrot and ginger and another that has a bit of hemlock needle in it; "not the poisonous one," Sandler assures us. They'll also have "Perry" ciders from England and poire versions from France, both of which are made with pears instead of apples. "We actually do have one cider on our list that is fermented with pear, quince, and apple; it's from Switzerland called the Cidrerie le Vulcain."
L: Rioja Libre; R: Slack ma Girdle (Paul Quitoriano/Gothamist)
While sipping a pure cider might be the crux of the operation, the team also offers cider and spirit-based cocktails by head bartender Jade Brown-Godfrey. She designed the Summer of Rambo cocktail ($14) mentioned earlier, a festive-looking combination of Pimm's, Famous Grouse blended scotch, lemon, Spanish cidre, Angostura and a medley of muddled berries. The Slack ma Girdle ($14), a bright green and vegetal cocktail made from gin, a dandelion simple syrup, lime and IPA will be a god-send on sticky summer days. She says the simple, muted design of the space inspired her to make cocktails that would pop in contrast to the marble-topped bar.
The food by chef Joseph Buenconsejo also leaps off the plate, even when it's an earthy Maitake ($23), a gnarled mushroom that looks to be growing out of the salsify puree on which it sits. Likewise, an appetizer of Roasted Beets ($12) and pistachio-crusted goat cheese, a reminder that an all-vegetarian menu doesn't have to be light on flavor. The dishes are meant to accompany pints of cider, naturally. "If we're finding some earthy notes in the cider we might pair it with a mushroom dish or we have a really rich dish we might pair it with an acidic cider or perhaps a really really smokey cider," explains Sandler.
The duo credit Sabine Hrechdakian, a lead producer of Cider Week and partner of the venue, for "opening their eyes" to the possibilities of cider and the need for more education. For that, they've devoted their "secret" back room for classes and tastings and speakers. "We want to have a place to learn about ciders because there isn't really a place like that in the city," says Lim. "Cider classes not only for the public but also people who want to start making ciders themselves or people who are in the trade—like beverage managers or other restaurant owners—who want to incorporate cider into their menus."
162 Orchard Street, 646-918-6835; website. Open daily at 5 p.m. (bar) and 5:30 p.m. (kitchen), with the full menu served until 11 p.m. followed by snack till 1 a.m. on week days and 2 a.m on weekends.
