Curran’s Orchard is back on top of the apple cider game after taking home first prize in the state at the 2024 Illinois Farm Bureau Everything Local Conference in Springfield last month.
“My cider is a sweet-tart blend,” said owner Pat Curran, who’s been entering his cider in the contest for the last 20 years. “And usually, it’s a little on the tart side. That’s the way I like it, and that’s what we shoot for, that middle-ground blend.”
In the last 11 years, Curran has grabbed second- and third-place honors but hasn’t won the top prize since 2013.
“We took all the marbles in ’13 and won something in 2014, but last year we didn’t even place,” he said. “So there’s some luck involved with this, of course.”
Judges at the Everything Local Conference look for the best aroma, taste, clarity and other characteristics to determine a winner. Curran’s 2024 entry was from a batch of cider that was made last year.
Curran’s makes cider every September, October and November at his west-side orchard and freezes about 500 gallons so it’s available for sale when the orchard opens the following year.