March First is playing around with nearly every drink you can think of – and they’ve been going strong on that philosophy since they opened their doors in 2017. There is more to the bigger picture than just producing great drinks, though. The community around the drinks and around drinking is half of what makes it all work, and March First has been doing their part in building and nourishing these communities as well. They’re doing it a major service by hosting a series of festivals in their newly expanded taproom that will blow your mind if you’ve yet to attend one.
The latest festival is getting ready to happen, and this Ciderpalooza is going to be something that you’ll want to pay attention to, no matter where you fall on the cider-drinker scale. If you’re new to drinking cider, the event will be perfect to try a whole bunch of different ciders, and to really get a good picture of what you like. If you’ve been drinking it forever, and consider yourself a bit of a cider geek? Well… there’s going to be a TON of great cider, including some that hasn’t been seen in Ohio before.
What’s Cider, Anyways?
I’m going to hopefully get some more content out there in the near future that dives into cider a little deeper – including this week’s episode of Drinking With The Gnome (stay tuned for that on Monday, April 22nd) – but the simplest definition is just fermented apple juice.
Of course there is a TON more to it than that – but that’s another reason that you need to get out to the festival. It’s a chance to learn more about a beverage that you’re going to be seeing more and more of in the coming years here in Cincinnati.
The Festival
Back to this ‘Ciderpalooza’ that March First is hosting. The important stuff that you need to know is that the festival runs from 11am to 11pm on April 27th at March First. It’s free to enter the festival, and pours will be $5 for either a 10 or 8oz pour depending on the cider. Live music will be cranking all day – a couple of food trucks will be on site to make sure that you don’t get hungry – and then there’s the cider. Hang on for this.
Main Bar – All Day while they last
- March First – Apricot Lime
- March First – Bourbon Barrel Aged Aglamesis Red Raspberry
- March First – Lemon Raspberry
- March First – Raspberry Cheesecake
- March First – Dry Limed
- March First – Aglamesis Red Raspberry
- March First – Tequila Barrel Aged Dry Lime Margarita
- Ciderboys – Strawberry Magic
- Vander Mill – Totally Roasted
- Wyndridge Farm – Crafty Cranberry
- Tincap – Mad Mango
- Sonder – Scarlett
- Ace – Apple Honey
- Downeast Cider – Grapefruit
Patio 1 – 11am-5pm
- Reverend Nat’s – Hallelujah Hopricot
- MadTree – 42 Mile
- Original Sin – Black Widow
- March First – Apple Fritter
Patio 1 – 5pm-11pm
- Reverend Nat’s – Hallelujah Hopricot
- MadTree – 42 Mile
- Original Sin – Black Widow
- B. Nektar – Zombie Killer
The Back Bar (Old Taproom) – 11am-5pm
- Swine City – We Roll Thicc
- March First – Airheads Green Apple
- B. Nektar – Punk Lemonade
- Downeast Cider – Aloha Friday
- Wooden Cask – Barrel Aged Orchard Alley
The Back Bar (Old Taproom) – 5pm-11pm
- Swine City – We Roll Thicc
- Reverand Nat’s – Sacrilege Sour Cherry
- Starcut – Mosa
- Downeast Cider – Aloha Friday
- Wooden Cask – Barrel Aged Orchard Alley
The Cider Garden – All Day, While They Last
- Rhinegeist – Swizzle
- Braxton – Kickback
- March First – Dry Limed
- March First – Aglamesis Red Raspberry