What A Difference A Donut Makes At Hogan’s Cider Mill
I’ll concede that, unless you live in the northeast portion of the northwest Connecticut (aka Litchfield County) part of the Rural Intelligence region, Burlington, Connecticut may be a hike. But hear me out on this. There’s a reward at the end of this particular road trip, a delightful find that’s charming and delicious (not to mention operating at time when that can’t be taken for granted). The destination is Hogan’s Cider Mill. More specifically, it’s a drink called Hogan’s Heartbreaker, a Valentine’s version of its Drunken Donut. The base of this concoction begins with Hogan’s hot sweet cider, which is then joined by a splash of tart cherry juice, spiked with Hogan’s December Frost hard cider, topped with a cider donut, whipped cream and conversation hearts. Still with me? Of course you are.
I’m careful about going out due to COVID, but when the Heartbreaker entered my consciousness, I was all set to jump into my car. GPS told me it was 62 miles from my house, yet with the anticipation of that Heartbreaker, I didn’t even care. What’s an hour-and-a-half drive when you’re traversing the loveliness of our region? Especially last Sunday, when the sun made an appearance, the roads were cleared and the temperature a balmy 24 degrees?
Hogan’s Cider Mill has been making cider since 1912, and the barn’s exterior looks like it, with its antique red truck sitting at the entrance. On the inside, the first-floor Mill Shop is jam-packed with bottled hard cider, gifty items from local artisans, antique jewelry, Hogan’s sweatshirts and cider glasses, and lots of jars of Hogan’s-branded pickles and other vegetables (and, curiously, pickled quail eggs). The actual cider press is there, too, behind closed doors. Upstairs, the tap room awaits, an inviting, rustic setting, a couple of rooms adorned with old-timey ephemera, long tables (great for social distancing), and the bar.
Four hard ciders (Classic, December Frost, Honey and Black Currant) were on tap — you could try them all in a flight — along with the donut-topped, limited-edition Hogan’s Heartbreaker (there’s also Hogan’s Cozy Donut, an alcohol-free version of the Drunken Donut). It’s part sweet, part tart, a warm little hit of booze ringed by the cider donut and a froth of whipped cream, with a couple of candy sweethearts for crunch. Maybe it’s the pandemic, maybe it’s the deprivation of rarely going out and having new experiences, but this simple pleasure hit all the right notes.
Or maybe it’s just that good.
Margaret Borla, manager and event coordinator at Hogan’s, came up with the concoction last year, using the last of the sweet cider from the previous fall. Borla is the daughter of Theresa and Chet Dunlop, who bought the mill in 1992 from the Hogan estate. (Chet, a golf pro, opened The New England School of Golf in the back of the property). The Dunlops were schooled in cider production from the mill’s longtime employees and have continued to use the same cider processes that the Hogans instituted over a 100 years ago. They opened the tap room in 2018, and Borla’s been getting creative with cider. In October she came out with Wendell’s Spooky Sipper, a booze-free drink of freshly pressed sweet cider mixed with caramel syrup, topped with whipped cream and a Halloween Peep. No donut on that one, though. Guess you’ve got to have the hard version to get that. It is a drunken donut, after all.
Faced with the pandemic, Borla rolled with the punches as COVID threw a few. She created an outdoor tap room, with picnic tables on the property for social distancing, and set up a firepit. (During the summer she brings in musical entertainment and encourages people to bring their own chairs — a mini Tanglewood with tastier beverages.)
Margaret Borla, manager, event coordinator, and hard cider drinkologist
And get this: Last May, she organized “Hitched at Hogan’s,” a day of free weddings for eight couples whose ceremonies were postponed due to COVID. The cider mill provided a space and services for couples to walk down the aisle and recite their vows under the wedding arch. “Everyone’s had such a difficult year,” she said. “Let’s use what we have and help some people out in our community.” Other businesses pitched in, donating a tent, flowers, food, photography, and a DJ. Clearly, Hogan’s has perfected the community and family-friendly vibe, one that’s worth supporting.
Sweet tooth (and hard cider hankering) satiated, it was back downstairs to select a takeaway cider. Hogan’s makes over 20 varieties, ranging from the versions on tap to Maple Leaf and Allegia (like Sangria, get it?) to Old Gringo Jalapeno and Cheeky Chocolate Cherry. They’re bottled at different times of the year using various apple varieties at particular stages of ripening. Borla, who opened the doors to the old cider press so I could get a glimpse the mill that’s been in use for decades, happened to mention two words that will have me tooling my way back in the summer:
Spiked slushies.
Hogan's Cider Mill
522 Spielman Highway (Route 4), Burlington, CT.
Friday, 3-8 p.m.; Saturday, noon-8 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m. (all hours are weather permitting)
(860) 690-1831
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