hard cider – Boozy Blondes

It’s time again to fill our 6-packs, lushes! This time we have Adrian Luna back on the podcast! Adrian is a certified Pommelier and works for the New York Cider Association, so it’s safe to say, he knows his stuff when it comes to filling a 6-pack of ciders. The Boozy Blondes are impressed he narrowed it down to just 6!

Adrian Luna aka Hard Cider Guy and the Boozy Blondes

It’s no secret the girls don’t gravitate towards ciders, and even if you share this preference, you still need to listen to this episode. Adrian is a Cider Siren! He lures you in with the way he articulates each note, aroma, and flavor! He paints them with such vivid, elegant detail that you could almost taste it just from his words. So below you can find links to his 6-pack choices, because the blondes are certain you’re going to want to look these up!

Black Diamond Cider’s Porter’s Pommeau | From the Finger Lakes of New York with a thick, bold, smooth, sweet flavor at 18% ABV.
Eden’s Ice Cider (Honeycrisp) | from the OG Ice Cider maker, Eleanor Leger, with a lighter body, sweet taste at 10% ABV.
Eve’s Cidery – Essence Ice Cider | From Autumn Stoscheck, another cider OG, with a sweet taste and 10% ABV.
Schilling & Company London Dry Hard Cider | Dry and bubbly, with robust apple flavor at 6.6% ABV.
Baumans Cider’s Mountain Rose | From cider legend Christine Walter, the rose colors comes from the meat of the apple as well as the skin. It’s semi-sweet at 6.3% ABV.
Seminary Hill 2022 Susan’s Semi-Dry | This cidery has an Air B&B! With it’s semi-dry, bubbly flavor, it’s 7.1% ABV.

The Boozy Blondes also fill a cider 6-pack and ask Adrian to grade it. Surprisingly, they did pretty well! You’ll have to listen in to learn their grade.

Adrian also makes a special announcement about a 3 Day Fingers Lake cidery tour he’s hosting in September 2025! You can get all the details here on this amazing adventure – the girls can’t think of a better cider host than THE Hard Cider Guy! The trip includes an expert-led, behind-the-scenes tour of the Finger Lakes cider scene, featuring exclusive tastings, local connections, and deep knowledge of the craft—from orchard to glass. Space is limited so secure your spot!

And be sure to go back and listen to Episode 041 (Behind the Booze – Interview with Hard Cider Guys, Adrian Luna and AJ Ricafranca) where the Boozy Blondes interview Adrian, his love of cider and his path to becoming the ultimate Cider Guy! Give him a follow on Instagram – he’s very fun and entertaining! Cheers! 🍎 🍏

Behind the Booze - Interviews, Season 2

Episode 041 | Behind the Booze – Interview with Hard Cider Guys, Adrian Luna and AJ Ricafranca

July 13, 2023November 5, 2023 The Boozy Blondes

Listen here!

The Boozy Blondes are thrilled to interview a pair of their boozy idols, Adrian and AJ of Hard Cider Guys! The Hard Cider Guys have supported the Boozy Blondes from their inception, and the girls appreciate the love and positivity so much! They learned a lot in this interview – the Hard Cider Guys have so much knowledge about the cider industry, listeners are guaranteed to learn a lot and maybe even have a new appreciation for cider – the blondes sure do.

It’s no surprise the DOE is cider. Chrissy chose Bold Rock Hard Cider made with apples from the Blue Ridge Mountains, Molly drank Congaree and Penn Farm Cider out of Jacksonville, Florida. The guys drank Burnt Mills Semi-Dry Hard Cider out of New Jersey.

Get to know Adrian and AJ and how their shared love of jujitsu and cider turned into a life-long friendship and blew up online! During the pandemic they guys started vlogging, reviewing ciders. Then they began to visit cideries and offered owners free promotion on social media. After a while, asking to be invited turned into cideries inviting them.

If you have ever wanted to build a strong brand and online presence, listen to this episode. The guys’ dedication to consistently create content is incredibly admirable. When it comes to The Boozy Blondes and Hard Cider Guys, all agree the time spent together is invaluable, but keeping up with your brand is demanding – but fun!

Many preconceived notions about ciders are that they are sweet. Which appeals to some, but not to others (like the Boozy Blondes). The guys explain many mass-produced ciders you find on shelves is of the sweeter variety, but if you’re looking for something more on the dry side, find a craft cidery and try their product. For example, it took AJ five tries before he warmed up to ciders!

For cider lovers, the annual event CiderCon is for you! Adrian was fortunate to attend the 2022 CiderCon through a scholarship he won – Cider Scholarship for BIPOC Beverage Professionals! This annual event brings beverage professionals together to enjoy workshops, classes, parties, networking.

While the Hard Cider Guys have quite the portfolio of cideries, Angry Orchard and Keel & Curley Farms rank high on the bucket list. (Listen to Boozy Blondes Episode 009 Keel & Curley Farm to learn more about this winery, brewery and restaurant!)

Future plans for this duo is to sometime open a bar dedicated to all the cideries the guys visited over the years. The girls definitely approve of these future plans! Follow the guys and all their adventures on Instagram and YouTube