What is a cider mill crawl you ask? Well, have you ever been on a pub crawl? It is kinda like that except you nom massive amounts of donuts and cider in an attempt to decide which mill is king. We got this idea to visit 3 cider mills and do a tasting, oh yeah, and wear plaid =) Why? Because it is super fun! We started the day at noon at my house for a little lunch. We will DEFINITELY be doing this again next year. It was a total blast. However next year we will not eat so much or we will have to schedule a donut coma nap in the middle of the day! This is going to be a long post (which is why I have procrastinated so long), enjoy!!
Stop #1:
Franklin Cider Mill, Franklin, Michigan
PROS: Very authetic old-fashioned cider mill feel, the donuts are amazing right out of the fryer, you get to the see the old cider press super close up, in a super cute little town, relaxing little stream, fantastic if you just want to run in and grab some goodies and go, live musicians performing
CONS: Abundance of bees, very small overall but especially by the main counter, most expensive ($21.50 for 2 dozen donuts and 1/2 gallon of cider), only one flavor of donut, not a lot of activities, donuts do not hold up well (but can be revived by popping them in the toaster)
Authentic Cider Press
Selection of goodies
Did you know you could freeze cider!? We didn't either!
Cool sign made from license plates!
Front counter
One of the outside stands
Group picture by the stream in our fabulous plaid
Stop #1:
Franklin Cider Mill, Franklin, Michigan
PROS: Very authetic old-fashioned cider mill feel, the donuts are amazing right out of the fryer, you get to the see the old cider press super close up, in a super cute little town, relaxing little stream, fantastic if you just want to run in and grab some goodies and go, live musicians performing
CONS: Abundance of bees, very small overall but especially by the main counter, most expensive ($21.50 for 2 dozen donuts and 1/2 gallon of cider), only one flavor of donut, not a lot of activities, donuts do not hold up well (but can be revived by popping them in the toaster)
Authentic Cider Press
Selection of goodies
Did you know you could freeze cider!? We didn't either!
Cool sign made from license plates!
Front counter
One of the outside stands
Group picture by the stream in our fabulous plaid
Stop #2:
Parmenter's Cider Mill, Northville, Michigan
PROS: Lots of activities, clean and easily walkable facility, super soft donuts that hold up well, 2 flavors of donut available, cider is pasteurized, good for kids and dogs, staff made sure we had hot fresh donuts when they heard they were being judged
CONS: More of a modern feel/not very rustic, some bees, mapquest can't give you accurate directions to it, moderate price ($20.50 for 2 dozen donuts and 1/2 gallon of cider)
Carriage rides!
Front counter... apparently all the cool kids drink cider slushes
This mill has a tv... we caught Katie watching the Lions game
Types of apples in that day's cider
Outside stands with crafts and snacks
They also sell wine
Modern cider press... out of the 3 we visited, only here could you get pasteurized cider for all you preggo women
I don't have a group shot at this mill but we each poked our heads into the apple cut outs... Monica was very reluctant so she gets her picture posted =)
Outside
PROS: Lots of activities, clean and easily walkable facility, super soft donuts that hold up well, 2 flavors of donut available, cider is pasteurized, good for kids and dogs, staff made sure we had hot fresh donuts when they heard they were being judged
CONS: More of a modern feel/not very rustic, some bees, mapquest can't give you accurate directions to it, moderate price ($20.50 for 2 dozen donuts and 1/2 gallon of cider)
Carriage rides!
Front counter... apparently all the cool kids drink cider slushes
This mill has a tv... we caught Katie watching the Lions game
Types of apples in that day's cider
Outside stands with crafts and snacks
They also sell wine
Modern cider press... out of the 3 we visited, only here could you get pasteurized cider for all you preggo women
I don't have a group shot at this mill but we each poked our heads into the apple cut outs... Monica was very reluctant so she gets her picture posted =)
Outside
Stop #3:
Plymouth Orchards and Cider Mill, Plymouth, Michigan
PROS: Most activities including some barnyard animals and hayrides, large property, inside area for tasting (no bees!), more of an updated farm feel, tastiest donut of the day, lots of sizes of cider jugs, most affordable ($19.50 for 2 dozen donuts and 1/2 gallon of cider)
PROS: Most activities including some barnyard animals and hayrides, large property, inside area for tasting (no bees!), more of an updated farm feel, tastiest donut of the day, lots of sizes of cider jugs, most affordable ($19.50 for 2 dozen donuts and 1/2 gallon of cider)
CONS: Worst donut of the day (powdered sugar), staff was informed of the tasting but did not give us hot fresh donuts, a little stuffy in the dining area, spread out so it is not a quick in and out, on a dirt road
NOTE: This mill is relocating November 1st
More cut outs! Jill, Katie and Stephanie
We saw this cut out from the back and the girls decided to pick a spot without knowing what they were going to be... I was cracking up taking the picture (Stephanie, Molly, Monica, Jill and Katie)
This mill had some barnyard animals and we got to see some one week old goats jumping and playing
Main building
Main counter... the cider press was back there somewhere
Group shot at the inside dining area
Last Stop:
The Tasting at Molly's house
Molly is excited for the car full of cider and donuts
Molly made us a crock pot dinner... tasty!
Martha Stewart... err... Molly's beautiful fall tablescape. We were going to have a 4th mill for tasting but Tricia was super sick (and we missed her terribly!) and she wasn't able to come, and she was going to bring something from a mill by her house.
I made little voting cards to decide the tasting winner
Franklin Cider Mill's platter: cider and plain donuts
Parmenter's Cider Mill's platter: cider and plain and spice donuts
Plymouth Orchard and Cider Mill's platter: cider and plain, powdered sugar, and cinnamon sugar donuts
I made super cute take home bags for everyone to share some yummy donut goodness with our husbands at home
A toast! To next year's cider mill crawl!
Parmenter's Cider, Franklin's Cider, and Plymouth's Cider
OFFICIAL TASTING RESULTS
NOTE: This mill is relocating November 1st
More cut outs! Jill, Katie and Stephanie
We saw this cut out from the back and the girls decided to pick a spot without knowing what they were going to be... I was cracking up taking the picture (Stephanie, Molly, Monica, Jill and Katie)
This mill had some barnyard animals and we got to see some one week old goats jumping and playing
Main building
Main counter... the cider press was back there somewhere
Group shot at the inside dining area
Last Stop:
The Tasting at Molly's house
Molly is excited for the car full of cider and donuts
Molly made us a crock pot dinner... tasty!
Martha Stewart... err... Molly's beautiful fall tablescape. We were going to have a 4th mill for tasting but Tricia was super sick (and we missed her terribly!) and she wasn't able to come, and she was going to bring something from a mill by her house.
I made little voting cards to decide the tasting winner
Franklin Cider Mill's platter: cider and plain donuts
Parmenter's Cider Mill's platter: cider and plain and spice donuts
Plymouth Orchard and Cider Mill's platter: cider and plain, powdered sugar, and cinnamon sugar donuts
I made super cute take home bags for everyone to share some yummy donut goodness with our husbands at home
A toast! To next year's cider mill crawl!
Parmenter's Cider, Franklin's Cider, and Plymouth's Cider
OFFICIAL TASTING RESULTS70 Possible points per category
CIDER
1st Place: Parmenter's (59)
2nd Place: Franklin's (55)
3rd Place: Plymouth's (52)
1st Place: Parmenter's (59)
2nd Place: Franklin's (55)
3rd Place: Plymouth's (52)
DONUTS
1st Place: Plymouth's (62 for the cinnamon sugar)
2nd Place: Franklin's (53 based on immediate consumption)
3rd Place: Parmenter's (52)
1st Place: Plymouth's (62 for the cinnamon sugar)
2nd Place: Franklin's (53 based on immediate consumption)
3rd Place: Parmenter's (52)
I voted Plymouth's cider and Franklin's donuts (only when eaten immediately so they are still crunchy) as the winners. Apparently I like sweet cider versus everyone else who preferred the tart cider.
2 comments:
Yaaaaaaaaaay! You could have stolen my group pic from Parmenter's too. Hmmm...maybe we will go to Plymouth Orchard today.
Good times! Now I want to go apple picking! :)
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