Cider Chat 043: Colin Davis | Shacksbury Cider, VT
Colin Davis is Production Manager and cidermaker at Shacksbury, a cidery based in northern Vermont in the town of Shoreham. Shacksbury was incorporated in 2013 and began selling ciders in 2014. Unlike many new startups that focus locally, the decision was made early on, to sell broadly.
David and Colin Shacksbury Beginnings
The immediate success of Shacksbury can be credited to both Colin Davis and his business partner David Dolginow. They hit the road running by creating a formidable team with the likes of Simon Day from the UK’s Once Upon a Tree and Ainara Otaño, a Basque cider maker from Petritegi .
The Basque collaboration with Ainara is now bottled in Spain. Shacksbury’s Arlo, Farmhouse, and Classic ciders are all blended with a Spanish base cider and their own Vermont cider.
There is also a base blend that is pre fermented in the UK and shipped to the US. Simon and Colin work with the Dragon Orchard in England, a 40 acre orchard and decide together what apples go in the base cider.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is all imported cider. Sunrise Orchards is a local Vermont orchard that they work with, as well as, having planted their own trees with scion wood from the Poverty Lane Orchards.
Shacksbury Cider Production Barn Happenings and Future Plans
Lost Apple Project, using local apples found on “feral trees” in the Vermont backwoods. As they find the perfect apple that tastes just right they are trying to propagate new trees.
What is new for Shacksbury?
- A tasting room in being built and should be ready for 2017.
- A new selection of canned ciders is in the works for 2017
- Website: https://www.shacksbury.com/
- John Bunker _ listen to episode 16 with John and 28 where John details his Apple Identification tips
- #PickCider is the United States Association of Cider Makers campaign to get Americans to “pick cider” to have with their Thanksgiving meal. Stay tuned to what is sure to be a very fun and productive campaign.
- Eric Bordelet
- Along Came A Cider 3 part blog on Vermont cideries – here is the link to Part 3 with mentions of Shacksbury.
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