A year ago, 2 Towns Ciderhouse debuted Cosmic Crisp® as a year-round cider, an 8% ABV imperial cider created from the (relatively new) Cosmic Crisp apple variety. (Read my review of it here; I really liked it.) Now, the cidery has announced the launch of its Cosmic Explorer Series, featuring two new Cosmic Crisp ciders joining the imperial lineup, out this month.

Details from the press release:

Launching off its astronomical success with award-winning Comic Crisp®, 2 Towns Ciderhouse expands its interstellar imperial series with two bold, new flavor frontiers, Tropical Cosmic Crisp® and Blueberry Cosmic Crisp® (both at 8% ABV).

Hitting earthling stores in early February, Tropical Cosmic Crisp® and Blueberry Cosmic Crisp® join the original Cosmic Crisp® (launched in 2021) to round out the Cosmic Explorer Series–the new, high ABV, imperial cider line from 2 Towns.

All three high gravity ciders (Tropical Cosmic Crisp®, Blueberry Cosmic Crisp®, and the original Cosmic Crisp®) are crafted with Cosmic Crisp® apples and designed to transport you straight across the galaxy. Tropical Cosmic Crisp® embodies purple passion fruit, hibiscus flowers, and Comic Crisp® apples and will have you getting pitted on some epic solar flares! On a nearby planet, Blueberry Cosmic Crisp® hits the flavor notes of Northwest blueberries jammin’ with Cosmic Crisp® apples, creating the ultimate space-age cider.

“We are thrilled to launch these new varieties of the Cosmic Explorer Series,” says Dave Takush, head cider maker. “The spectacular flavor of the Cosmic Crisp apple really supports the tangy and tropical vibes of the passionfruit and hibiscus. I also love how the character of the NW Blueberries really shine through in the Blueberry Cosmic. Both of these new Cosmic ciders are out of this world.”

The Cosmic Crisp® apple is the work of 20 years of study and research by Washington State University, resulting in a classically bred hybrid of Enterprise and Honeycrisp apples. The resulting fruit is a large, round, crisp, and super juicy apple that is perfect for snacking, baking, and clearly, cider making. Large, round, crisp and super juicy, these bi-color apples have a rich red that almost sparkles with starburst-like lenticels—which is where the name “Cosmic” comes from.

“Undoubtedly, the partnership with 2 Towns Ciderhouse and Cosmic Crisp® will live long and prosper,” said Kathryn Grandy, chief marketing officer, Cosmic Crisp®. “We are delighted to build upon this natural alliance and excited to be collaborating on such incredible flavor innovations with 2 Towns.”

Specs

Tropical Cosmic Crisp®
8.0% ABV | Imperial Passion Fruit
Crafted with Cosmic Crisp® apples, purple passion fruit, and hibiscus flowers
Passion fruit-forward with a hint of fresh hibiscus flowers, brought together by Cosmic Crisp® apples.

Blueberry Cosmic Crisp®
8.0% ABV | Imperial Blueberry
Crafted with Cosmic Crisp® apples and Pacific Northwest blueberries
Fresh Cosmic Crisp® apples profile up front with a Northwest blueberry party in the back.

Original Cosmic Crisp®
8.0% ABV | Imperial Cider
Crafted with Cosmic Crisp® apples
Crisp, clean, high acid profile. Beautiful apple forward flavor and aromas.

The Cosmic Explorer Series will be available in 4x6x12 oz cans, ½ bbl & ⅙ bbl kegs through distributors in Oregon, Washington, California, Alaska, Idaho, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota, and Arizona.

Inevitably I wonder if we’ll see more varieties in this series, though to be fair I suppose we should see how the Tropical and Blueberry ciders do first.