Next week is Passover for some and great cider for all! We’ll have two key events featuring ciders from Rowan Imports, starting with Monday’s (3/25 at 7 p.m.) Cider Sidra Seder—a Sephardic/Spanish-themed dinner with roast leg of lamb, bitter herb salad, baklava dessert and additional courses TBA (tickets available here)—and the New Tuesday Tasting (3/26 at 7:30 p.m.) being guided by none other than the brotherly team behind Rowan Imports, John and Anthony Belliveau-Flores.
We caught up with John recently to ask him about Rowan Imports, the future of cider, and how the brothers came to own an international business together.
What encouraged you to start this venture into the cider industry?
We decided to get into cider, as opposed to wine or beer, I would say mainly for two reasons. First, we are big personal fans of cider. We grew up in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, where quite a bit of cider is produced. And as we got older and began to travel, we began discovering remote, regional and cultural cider traditions that were just amazing. I would say that really opened our eyes.
The second reason is more pragmatic. Cider as a category has been seriously under-represented, but is one that is experiencing a renaissance of sorts. You know, back in Colonial times, hard cider was the hands down drink of choice. That changed for a variety of reasons, and now we think it is changing back. We’d like to be at the forefront of that movement.
What separates your ciders from the rest?
It’s hard to say what distinguishes our ciders, since we have purposefully selected our products to represent a variety of styles and tastes—and therefore consumer preferences. The common thread, of course, is that they are all of the highest quality, are generally small production and family owned, and are really authentic expressions of the cider-making traditions from which they come.
That said, each style is quite unique. The Spanish traditional ciders, for instance, probably illustrate this most dramatically. They are made with wild yeast, aged in massive (20,000 liter) chestnut tanks, and are left unfiltered. They are bone-dry, crisp with a nice tannic bite, and mouth-watering astringency.
Our American ciders are generally sweeter, although far less so than their mass-produced counterparts. I would describe their taste as crisp and clean, light but not unsubstantial.
In terms of style, I think this is also a point of difference between our products and their more mainstream competitors. Most people think of cider as a fairly simple, sweet, still or lightly carbonated (and, dare I say, uninteresting), beverage. In reality, cider is an amazingly complex and versatile drink. We represent products that cover the gamut from sweet to dry, still to sparkling (both forced gas and Champagnoise method), light- to full-bodied, dessert ciders produced similarly to an ice wine, etc.
These differences come partly from the various production methods used, and partly from the base fruit (American cider apples are often quite sweet, even edible, while Spanish cider apples are not much more than large crab apples). All equally good in their own way, just very different.
What is your favorite style you import and why?
Well, I hate to play favorites! But personally, I confess that my tastes run towards the weirder, funkier side of things. If you like sour ale, as I do, I would suggest the traditional Spanish ciders. The Castañón and the Val d’Ornón are both excellent.
Or with a good meal, there’s nothing better than a crisp American cider. I would suggest the Slyboro Old Sin.
Why did you decide to bring your ciders to New York City?
The simple answer is that we live in New York, and so it would be impractical to import them anywhere else!
In reference to our Spanish imports, none have previously been available here in the States. And in fact, most had not been exported outside of Asturias, the small region in northern Spain where they are produced. The American ciders we market had obviously been available here before we took them on, but were not widely distributed. We got into the game because we wanted to change all that.
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced so far?
Aside from the considerable paperwork, licenses, regulations and other red tape that had to be navigated, our biggest challenge (and also, I think, our biggest opportunity) has been educating our customers about what we do.
Probably the most common single reaction to trying our products has been surprise (I like to think, pleasant surprise), simply because they are so different from the other ciders available, and also to the common understanding of what a cider even is.
Craft cider today is where craft beer was ten or twenty years ago, right on the verge of exploding onto the national scene. I would recommend them to anyone.
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
The travel and the people! Seeing the world has always been a passion of ours, and it has truly been a pleasure to meet the producers, customers, food writers, amateur enthusiasts and all the other industry people we have been privileged to come in contact with.
Are there any traditions or superstitions, folklore, etc., in any of the cider houses you deal with?
The Spanish cider culture is deeply rooted and has some very specific ideas about how cider should be properly enjoyed. The most visible example would have to be the “escanciar,” a method of pouring the cider from a height to give it a light effervescence. The pourer holds the bottle in one hand extended high over the head, and the glass with the other hand down by the knee. The trick is not to spill while looking straight ahead, not down at the glass!
Where do you see Rowan Imports in five years?In our opinion, cider has so far been given short shrift by large distributors, who understandably have focused on the larger segments of their portfolio such as beer and wine. Our goal is to carry hard ciders and apple wines exclusively from around the world. We truly love the drink and want to bring it to as many people as possible. We hope that one day people will think of Rowan Imports when they think of cider.
What, if any, was your involvement in the food/beverage industry prior to starting Rowan?
Well, we had both worked in various capacities in the restaurant industry (server, barista, line cook, etc.), but never specifically on the wholesale side of things. Professionally, Anthony had previously worked in education; I mainly in grant writing.
Our interests have always skewed strongly towards food and travel, and an import business seemed the perfect way to incorporate both. I think this is probably what informed our decision most.
When did you start up the business and what prompted you to?
In 2010, I had taken a personal trip to Asturias. It was not my first trip to the region (and certainly not my last), but looking back, I think this is when I really got interested in the idea of Spanish cider.
Over the next year we bandied around the idea of starting a cider-only bar. We gradually came to realize that this was an unrealistic option for us, for a variety of reasons, and finally settled on the idea to wholesale cider rather than retail it. As I remember, we sealed the deal with a handshake over hamburgers. Some place on East Houston in Manhattan, I believe.