Bantam Cider Company

I saw that the Hibiscus Mint would be in this weekend’s rotation and had to go – the boyfriend introduced me to Bantam’s Rojo and it took me a while to get used to (the popular college cider is overly sweet Angry Orchard).
Am I glad we came! The taproom and very efficient tour gave us interesting information on Bantam’s name, founding, and principles; their flights are amazing and allow you to sample the depth of the flavored they produce (and a variety of unique tastes outside of their big three store-​available ciders).
Their growlers are well-​priced as well, and I love the fact that all six of their current full-​time star are really awesome women. Keep it up! Will definitely be back for more.
A+ service and surprisingly addictive pretzel sticks. Go for their creative favors and a good time!

Such amazing cider! I love the sterile, sleek aesthetic of this place. It’s quite a contrast to the glorious chaos that is Downeast, but it’s perfect in its own right. Their flights are an awesome way to try all of their ciders and you definitely should because they are so unique and isn’t that the best part of visiting a tasting room? I like that you can munch on pretzel rods while sipping their cider and taking in the sights of their operation. It’s a gem in the neighborhood and makes you appreciate that something so wonderful is nestled in our city. My only wish would be stools around the bar but I appreciate the minimalist vibe they’ve got going on so I’ll stand and sip.

Bantam is awesome! We are beer-​loving people, and already enjoy visiting & touring local breweries. We didn’t realize, though, how great cider could be, too. Bantam has forced me to admit that my scapegoat of cider as a sweet and sugary drink is totally unreasonable. Srsly, these ciders are so delicious and complex.
I highly recommend a visit to Bantam’s tasting room, where you can get full pours or flights of whatever they are currently brewing. The flights are really where it’s at, because all of their different brews really are remarkable — both the ones on their list of standards, and their limited releases. I would esp. recommend the Rojo, brewed with cherries and peppercorns — as well as the Americain, which has rose, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves! Today, we also had the Hibiscus Mint, which was out of this world. Really, every cider you will try is at least interesting and quite often fabulous.

I just want to talk about how jealous I am that this place 1) does not exist in Buffalo and 2) does not distribute to WNY. Mad. Not cool.
Moving on.
An ode to Bantam.
Rojo, Rojo, where can I find thou, Rojo?
I see you in your cans so fair
But cannot fly you through the air.
Your Wild One is seedless, yet I sense their presence there.
And Wunderkind’s not needless, but from it I don’t despair.
Dry-​hopped, I respect you, but it is not you it’s me.
Americain, you’re beautiful, but our love it cannot be.
GinGenX you’re tasty, though there’s soap that’s on your nose,
But my love lies with the cider
Whose color is a rose.
Yes Rojo, oh dear Rojo, it’s you I do adore.
The tears, they stain my pillow as I accept you are no more.
I blame the TSA — I do!
As well as checked bagged fees,
They’re keeping us apart, Rojo, for all eternity.

My first trip to Bantam was completely by accident. On a cold Saturday night my husband and I were wondering around Somerville and kept coming across people with a brown Bantam bag. Thanks to Unilocal we found them right around the corner from where we were standing.
Inside was a cozy, industrial chic space with really attentive bartenders. Right as we walked in we were greeted by a bartender who told us the deal (flights vs full pours) and got us set up for a flight. I’m a cider fan through and through, so while these are not my favorite ciders in the world, they are a great option. There is something for everyone on their current rotation and definitely worth the $ 10/​flight. If you checkin through the Unilocal app you can get one more tasting for free. Yes.
This was a great stop for us after a long day of being out and about. We would have stayed longer but they oddly don’t have a stool or chair in sight. Put your comfy shoes on and go enjoy!

Such a fun place! 10 bucks for a flight of five ciders. I hope they stay in somerville for a long long time!

I am a die hard fan of Bantam Cider, so making a pilgrimage to the source was very exciting!
Jason L and I went on a dreary Sunday afternoon. Bantam offers 4 tall tables, and no chairs. There are no food trucks, or board games in sight, but they do pass out free pretzel sticks. People brought their own food and coffee without complaint. The music is decidedly early aughts, with a slight skew towards hip hop.
A generous flight of 5 costs $ 10. A Unilocal check in gets you one additional tasting for free. The flight comes one at a time, structured from the most accessible to more bizarre/​intense.
Bantam offers growlers, the bottle itself (refillable) costs $ 5, and a fill costs an additional $ 12.
We tried: Wunderkind, Rojo, Dry Hopped, Wild One, GinGenX and Smoked Saison. To my knowledge the only flavors available outside the tasting room are the Wunderkind, Rojo and Saison– so trying the others was a treat! The Wild One was Bantam’s take on a sour– it had a funky odor, but was very refreshing. The Dry Hopped was very earthy and bright. The GinGenX tasted very much like a ginger beer, but even more ginger-​y in flavor, with a lingering taste of citrus. The Smoked Siason, my least favorite, was hard to swallow– very smoky, with a strong bacon after taste.
Anyways, Bantam is a great place for cider lovers to stop but not to linger. Unlike some local breweries, where there is an emphasis on entertaining folks all day, Bantam markets itself more as a pit stop.

Best tasting room in the Cambrigde/​Somerville area. This is an absolute hidden gem. Fun environment to hang out on the weekend, staff was a lot of fun and they offer several ciders that are not available otherwise.

They have a great selection of ciders served in a very relaxed and cool place. The lady who served us was also very nice and helpful.

This is a tiny tiny location in the middle of residential Somerville and it’s charming. I love the idea of a small scale cidery where consumers can get to know the people who make the cider they’re enjoying. The space is small but they make good use what they have, though maybe I would like some stools to sit while I enjoy my tastings.
Honestly I was a little disappointed because I really like the Wunderkind, but the other options were not really to my liking. The only other one that I would order at a bar/​restaurant is probably their Rojo, but when we did a full pour of that, it was not refrigerated (they were busy and were just taking the bottles out of storage or something, I’m not sure). They were happy to swap it out for the Wunderkind, which they did have sitting in the fridge.
I may come back, but not after I check out Downeast Cider. I hear they have a fall seasonal PUMPKIN cider, which I tried at a bar and can’t wait to get my hands on.

Cool space. Friendly bartenders great cider. What more do you need?
Tried a flight: Wunderkind, The Americain, Dry-​Hopped, Wild One, Smoked Saison. Loved the Wild One so followed up with A Little Something. Wild yeast with sour cherry… My favorite so far. Barrel aged cider in the works

What an awesome tasting, such amazing women that work here. Had a wonderful experience and looking forwards to coming back for some of their events! Great cider all around! :)

I really enjoyed my time at Bantam. We ordered the flight, and even though we split it among 4 people (some previous erm… day drinking had already happened), the women behind the counter were very accommodating. It’s also a substantial amount of cider for $ 10. When I was there, they had minimal seating, so most people stood around and drank their ciders. I suppose this prevents people from overstaying their welcome, but it felt sort of inhospitable (I know, I know, the teeniest violin).
The Wunderkind is still the best cider. Since I love Wunderkind, I was hoping for the same elegant, clean, champagne-​bubble taste in the other ciders, but I did not like the majority of them. One — the name escapes me — tasted like rotted limes. Out of the 5 we tried, we only liked two (Wunderkind and Americaine? Can’t remember). That being said, one rarely gets the opportunity to try experimental ciders before they go out on the marketplace (if at all), so we still enjoyed the opportunity to try vastly different, exclusive, innovative ciders and ask questions about them. Other people will probably love certain ciders that we didn’t like.
If you do like some of the flavors you try, you can buy growlers or bottles of certain flavors.
The women who run this place are extremely knowledgeable — we inquired about their distribution and received a detailed and passionate response. Awesome!

They no longer do the buy-​a-​glass and get a discount next time thing. Everything else still applies. Except the Wild One, a sour and funky cider like a sour beer — that’s my kind of cider! Keep it up, ladies.

Came to Bantam while visiting a friend in Boston and was very impressed. The Wunderkind cider is absolutely delicious. Highly suggest ordering the tasting flight of 5 ciders so that you can try several of them — at only $ 10, it’s a steal.
Really wish they were exporting to DC. Until then, I will be asking everyone who travels up to Boston to bring bottles back with them for me!

A cidery? How unique! A craft cidery? Even more unique (shut up all you grammarians out there)! A craft cidery started by women and maintained by a decent number of them? Now we’re talking!!!
These are great facts, but the best fact remains that their cider is delicious. I love the Rojo which is available commercially, but the varieties they have on-​site include many experimental or single-​barrel ciders you can’t get anywhere but here.
I would highly recommend a flight which gives you a lot of bang for your buck. I also highly recommend spending some time in the bathroom too, and not for the reasons you normally think.

Wandering down a dark alley, into a sketchy unmarked door, then into a door that just said «Come on in!,» I figured I was either about to be murdered or find Somerville’s coolest speakeasy cider house. Luckily, it was the latter!
The space was super cool. I like the simple design and exposed view of the fermentation tanks. The jars of pretzels were a clever touch. The ciders: yeah, amazing. Rojo was my favorite. I also liked Americain. They also do flights, in case you don’t want to commit to just one.
It wasn’t too crowded for a Saturday night. The space is huge, so it’d be good for a group.
FYI, their closing time (7:00) seemed to be last call. They let us all hang around to finish our drinks after that.
Can’t wait to go back!

Bantam, they do cider right.
I’ve been here for a couple different events where they only offered full pours, no flights :(, but I have to say I am always impressed.
The space looks great, it has a wonderful feel and is fantastic for medium or large events.
The service is friendly and quick. Cider slingers here know their stuff and are happy to let you try different ciders and make suggestions.
ANd the flavors, they rotate! The Americain holds my heart as the best cider they make. Its a very apple pie flavor but subtle. Not overly sweet, just amazing spices that come through. Last time I was there I also got to try the Sour Blackberry. WHAT! This is cider? This… is… amazing! The Rojo (sour cherry) is always a good choice, and Wunderkind or Sweet Scrumpy (sp?) are a good bet as well.
I’m not sure if they typically sell food here (not during the events I went to) but if they do that just boosts them to an above 5 star review. Yeah.

I’ve been smitten with Bantam since the first time I tried their Wunderkind. It was one of those «We’re not in Kansas anymore» moments after years of thinking that Magners was the cider norm. I love that so many great ciders are on the market now but Bantam is above and beyond. So imagine how downright giddy I was to find out they were opening a taproom smack dab in Union Square!
The space is concrete chic with a big butcher block set up on one side, bottles lining the wall, and then 2 bar counters ponied up to the taps. It was simple industrial and a really comfortable vibe for a tasting room. The two ladies pouring were friendly and happy to chat about all their different flavors, how Bantam got started and what each member of our group might like.
$ 10 gets you a flight of 5 ciders– all full pours are $ 6 after that. For a short time, they’ll also let you take their cute Bantam tasting glasses home! There were 7 offerings on their menu the day we went. My favorite was the Americain– a warm spicy cider with cardamom, cloves and cinnamon– can’t wait until they start bottling this!
In addition to their tasting options they also have their current 3 bottled options you can buy and bring home with you– the Wunderkind (their flagship cider), the Rojo (delightful cider with pops of sour cherry) and the Smoked Saison (very unique take with smoked apples).
I will absolutely head back to see what else makes it onto their tasting menu and subtly encouraging (read: demanding) they bottle their Americain.

Craft cider seems to be the next big thing. Following in the footsteps of craft beer, cider is being come experimental with new styles being created and new ingredients being used to come up with aromas, flavors and exciting results.
At the forefront of this, in the Boston area is Bantam Cidery. Founded by two women, Dana Masterpolo and Michelle da Silva and with the helps of their friends and siblings, they’ve created various ciders using old and new techniques that have helped elevate it to whole new level. The cidery is located outside of Union Square, almost near the McGrath highway, right off of Somerville Avenue. The entrance is actually on Marriam Street and will lead you through a couple doors and right into the renovated space.
Their flagship cider, Wunderkind, is already readily available in the Boston area, and they’ve since then experimented further and created new ones such as Rojo which features peppercorns and sour cherries alongside some ale yeast. It’s a very interesting take on the style and just an example of many they have available (or will have).
The new space is absolutely stunning. It’s very modern and clean looking, with a very sleek array of tables. No chairs anywhere but a pretty nice counter where they pour five different ciders: Wunderking, Rojo, A Little Something, Smoked Saison and Wild.
In the adjacent rooms are the fermenting room and the barrel room where the magic also happens. They’re constantly trying out new things and introducing new techniques. The biggest and best surprise of the day was when I sampled their Smoked Saison cider. While smoked beers using a smoked malt to achieve those flavors, they mashed and smoked the apples directly to achieve the same kind of aromas but without any of the grains making it a delicious, gluten-​free treat.
My wife and I had a great time and we look forward to returning there. And while they ‘only’ have five ciders available right now, that number will most likely increase in the future as well as the merchandise and everything else there.
And speaking of samples, you’re giving a few options while there. For $ 10 you can get a sampler flight of all five ciders, and you get to keep the beautiful, tulip glass at the end. You can also, instead, get full pours if any cider or you can combine both. We had 2 sampler flights, 2 full pours and we also bought a bottle and it ran us $ 45. It felt pretty steep but I’m sure that down the road more options will be introduced, and the price will go down a bit.
All in all, this is a very exciting, new business that everyone, gluten-​free or not should check out, The ciders are awesome, the staff very friendly and the space absolutely stunning and very stylish. We very much look forward to seeing what they have planned for their future and will make sure to do our part to support them along the way.