The Cider Renaissance
The Finger Lakes has a deeper apple history than its wine history. Before Prohibition, New York was the largest cider-producing state in the country, and the hillsides around the lakes — too steep for row crops, too cold for tender fruit — were planted with thousands of acres of apple trees. Many of those old orchards still stand, growing varieties like Golden Russet, Northern Spy, and Newtown Pippin that were bred for cider, not eating. The modern craft cider movement in the Finger Lakes draws directly on this heritage, and the results are closer to fine wine than to the sweet, mass-produced cider that dominates grocery store shelves.
Ithaca and Tompkins County have emerged as the epicenter of the Finger Lakes cider scene, with several producers working within a few miles of each other. But cideries are scattered across the region, each reflecting the specific apples and terroir of their site.
Cideries
South Hill Cider operates from a small production facility on South Hill in Ithaca, and their approach is as close to natural winemaking as cider gets. Founders Steve Selin and Sarah Welles source apples from old, sometimes abandoned orchards around the Finger Lakes — wild trees, foraged fruit, heirloom varieties that no commercial grower would bother with. The ciders are fermented with wild yeast, bottled with minimal intervention, and express flavors that are genuinely unlike anything produced by conventional methods: tannic, complex, sometimes funky, always interesting. The Packbasket cider (a blend of foraged wild apples) and the single-variety Northern Spy are standouts. The tasting room is small and informal — this is a producer-driven operation, not a destination venue. Open Saturday afternoons; check the website for seasonal hours and availability.
Located at Good Life Farm on the west side of Cayuga Lake between Interlaken and Hector, the Finger Lakes Cider House is both a tasting room and a working organic farm. The ciders come from multiple regional producers — you can taste side by side from South Hill, Redbyrd Orchard Cider, Kite and String, and others — making it the best single-stop education in Finger Lakes cider. The farmstead setting is beautiful: orchards, pastures, a restored barn. Food is available — cheese boards, seasonal soups, farm-sourced snacks. Open Friday through Sunday, April through December. The drive along the lake is scenic, and the pace here is deliberately slow.
Star Cider operates out of a taproom in Canandaigua and takes a more approachable, fruit-forward approach than some of the region’s wilder producers. The flagship Star Cider is clean, crisp, and only lightly sweet — a good entry point for drinkers who have not tried craft cider before. Seasonal releases incorporate local fruits: cherry, peach, and berry ciders appear in summer and fall. The downtown Canandaigua location makes it easy to combine with a lakeside walk or dinner. Open Thursday through Sunday.
BlackDuck Cidery, located near Ovid on the ridge between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, makes ciders from apples grown on their own property and from neighboring orchards. The style falls between South Hill’s wild approach and Star Cider’s accessibility — dry, balanced, fruit-expressive ciders that pair well with food. The Perry (pear cider) is worth seeking out. The tasting room is a converted farm building. Open weekends in season; limited winter hours.
Eric Shatt grows certified organic cider apples on a hillside above Hector and produces small-batch ciders that emphasize the specific characteristics of each variety. The orchard includes traditional European cider apples — Dabinett, Yarlington Mill, Kingston Black — that provide the tannin structure most American apple varieties lack. Production is limited; find these ciders at the Finger Lakes Cider House tasting room or at select Ithaca retailers.
Distilleries
Finger Lakes Distilling in Burdett (Schuyler County) is the largest and most established craft distillery in the region, and it produces a remarkably broad range of spirits: gin, vodka, whiskey, brandy, and liqueurs, all from local ingredients. The McKenzie line of whiskeys — Bourbon, Rye, and Single Malt — uses New York grain and ages in the region’s temperature swings, which accelerate barrel interaction. The oriGINal Gin Workshop is the standout experience: a hands-on class where participants blend their own botanical gin recipe from a selection of over 30 herbs, spices, and aromatics, then bottle and label it to take home. The workshop runs $75 per person and books up quickly in summer. The tasting room overlooks Seneca Lake. Open daily year-round; workshop schedule varies.
Based in Rochester (technically just outside the Finger Lakes, but closely tied to the region’s agricultural supply chain), Black Button was the first craft distillery to open in Rochester since Prohibition. Founder Jason Barrett uses New York grain, botanicals, and honey. The Citrus Forward Gin — bright, juniper-forward, with a clean citrus peel finish — has won multiple spirits competition medals. The Bourbon Cream liqueur is a regional best-seller. The distillery offers tours and tastings at its Railroad Street location. Open Wednesday through Sunday.
Dragonfyre, located near Penn Yan, wraps its spirits operation in a medieval fantasy theme — the tasting room is decorated with dragons, swords, and stone-effect walls. It could come across as pure novelty, but the spirits are legitimate: the vodka is smooth, the Dragonfyre Whiskey has a pleasant caramel character, and the flavored liqueurs (honey mead-inspired, coffee, maple) are popular with visitors. The themed environment makes this a fun group activity, particularly for visitors who are less interested in serious spirits geekery. Open Thursday through Sunday.
Last Shot Distillery occupies a renovated historic building in downtown Skaneateles, the easternmost of the Finger Lakes towns. The space itself is worth the visit — exposed brick, original timber beams, copper stills visible through glass walls. The spirits focus on whiskey and gin, made from New York grain. The bourbon, aged in full-size barrels (not the small barrels some craft distillers use to speed up aging), benefits from patience. The tasting room doubles as a cocktail bar, and the bartenders mix drinks that showcase the house spirits. Skaneateles itself is worth an afternoon — the lake is the cleanest of the Finger Lakes, and the downtown shopping district is well-maintained. Open Thursday through Sunday; summer hours extend through the week.
Barrelhouse 6 is the distillery that looks as good as its spirits taste. The Hammondsport tasting room is a striking build — exposed beams, copper stills visible through glass, artwork on every wall — anchored by a 108-foot deck overlooking Keuka Lake. Voted FLX Finest Gold for Best Distillery in 2023, and the awards extend beyond local: the Brothers’ 1910 Bourbon (sherry cask finished, 96 proof) scored 91 points from the Beverage Testing Institute, and the Chocolate Cream Liqueur took Double Gold at Finger Lakes International. Budget at least an hour; the cocktail menu alone justifies the drive.
Krookid Leyk took FLX Finest Gold for Best Distillery in 2024, and the name tells you something about the attitude. This Hammondsport operation distills small-batch spirits from locally sourced ingredients with an emphasis on craft over scale. The approach is boutique and hands-on — you are tasting what the distillers themselves are drinking, not a production-line product.
Tucked into the hills outside Prattsburgh, a few miles from Keuka Lake, Black Sheep earned FLX Finest Gold for Best Distillery in 2025 — the most recent year’s top pick. The secluded setting is part of the appeal: this is not a drive-by tasting room on a busy wine trail but a destination you seek out deliberately, and the spirits reward the detour.
Antler Run is a father-son grain-to-glass operation on a hilltop in Keuka Park, and the view — a panorama of Keuka Lake, the college campus, and the surrounding hills — won Gold for Best Restaurant View in 2022 for good reason. The distillery itself took FLX Finest Gold the same year. Doug and James Quade use 100% New York State grains, and the Howling Dog Bourbon anchors a straightforward cocktail menu: Cherry Old Fashioned, Manhattan, all twelve dollars each. Bring lunch from town, settle in on the deck, and ask for the distillery tour.
Planning Your Visit
- Cider season: Apple harvest runs from September through November, and many cideries release fresh-press and harvest-season ciders during this window. Visiting in October combines cider tasting with fall foliage.
- Tasting fees: Most cideries and distilleries charge $5-$15 for a tasting flight. Finger Lakes Distilling’s oriGINal Gin Workshop is $75 and requires advance booking.
- Buying to go: New York law allows cideries and distilleries to sell bottles directly to consumers at their production facilities. Stock up — many of these products have limited distribution beyond the tasting room.
- Pairing cider with food: The Finger Lakes Cider House offers cheese and charcuterie boards designed to pair with cider. Dry ciders pair similarly to white wine; tannic, wild-fermented ciders pair with rich, fatty foods.
- Combine with wine: Several cideries and distilleries sit along the same routes as the wine trails. Finger Lakes Distilling is on Route 414 near multiple Seneca Lake wineries; the Finger Lakes Cider House is between the Cayuga and Seneca trails.
