Thompson’s Cider Mill celebrates its 50th anniversary at Sundial Farm in Ossining on Saturday, September 19, kicking off a milestone year for one of Westchester County’s favorite fall traditions.
Fifty years in, the mill continues to produce small batch fresh cider that generations of local families keep coming back to, year after year. Since 1976, the mill has been a part of the region’s agricultural community, evolving from reestablishing a19th-century orchard into a premier destination for artisanal fresh and hard ciders.
One of Westchester’s early farm-to-table purveyors, Thompson’s Cider Mill was founded by Geoff Thompson with a mission to keep the county’s agricultural past alive. Today, the mill is a steward of open space, operating on land that has been a working orchard since the 1870s – and a tradition for generations of Westchester families, many of whom have been making the trip every autumn since they were kids themselves.
Preserving Westchester’s Heritage
For 50 years, Thompson’s Cider Mill has been more than an orchard – it’s been a steward of Westchester’s open space and agricultural history keeping orchard land in Croton-on-Hudson (Town of Yorktown) since the 1870s.
“From the beginning I believed the terroir of Westchester County is ideal for apple growing,” Thompson says. “The soil, the humidity, the length of the growing season and other factors of nature combine to make it special. By resurrecting the orchard and protecting this open space, in a small way we help our customers experience the true taste of Westchester’s agricultural legacy.
“I began by making and selling a few gallons of cider made on a hand-cranked press from a roadside cooler with an honor box,” Thompson recalls. “Whatever we put out, went quickly, and within two years I had invested in a mechanized press that could produce eight gallons per pressing and set it up in the barn at the small house I rented from Teatown Reservation on Spring Valley Road. In 1978 I purchased 5.5 acres of land a quarter mile away on Blinn Road which had been an orchard from the 1880s until 1930s. I began replanting the orchard and in 1980 moved to a house and cider mill we built there. After a fire destroyed the house and attached barn, in 1996 we built today’s free-standing mill with a press system that produces 30-plus gallons per pressing.”
A Rare Pomological Collection
The heart of the mill’s success is an orchard featuring 500-plus trees and 15 apple varieties including heirloom and unusual apples not typically found supermarkets.
The Gold Standard of Cider
Thompson’s continues to set the bar for quality through two distinct product lines:
- Artisanal Fresh Cider: Thompson’s small-batch fresh cider is a sophisticated blend of up to 25 different apple varieties. This results in a balanced, full-bodied flavor profile that has defined the Westchester autumn experience for half a century.
- Award-Winning Hard Ciders: Expanding on its traditional roots, the mill has become a local purveyor in the craft hard cider movement, with its award-winning hard ciders earning recognition for quality year after year. Nine different hard ciders highlight the natural characteristics of the fruit, and are noted for their clean, crisp character.
Visit This Season
Thompson’s Cider Mill opens for its 50th Anniversary season on Saturday, September 19, at Sundial Farm, 1311 Kitchawan Road (Route 134) in Ossining. Weekend hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
During September and October, Thompson’s ciders, apples, and other products are sold exclusively at our farm stand and tasting room at historic Sundial Farm, 1311 Kitchawan Road (Route 134) in Ossining – not at the cider mill location. Stop by for heirloom and new apple varieties, fresh-baked pies and muffins, cider donuts, local honey, and maple syrup. Sundial is immediately west of Exit 11 of the Taconic State Parkway.
Sales at the cider mill, 335 Blinn Road in Croton-on-Hudson, run from November to mid-December. Please note: There is no public apple picking at the orchard.