403: Botanist and Barrel Eclectic Ferments | NC

403: Botanist and Barrel Eclectic Ferments | NC

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist March 6, 2024 Duration: 58:33

Meet one half of the family team at Botanist and Barrel

Botanist and Barrel is a family owned and operated cidery. Kether Smith and brother Lyndon and their respective spouses Derick McGuffey and Amie Fields make the magic happen at this eclectic cidery. They began selling cider commercially in 2017 and they all enjoy making cider.

Cider Chat Episode 403 Botanist and Barrel
Lyndon Smith and Amie Fields

There are two tasting rooms. Production happens at the Cedar Grove Location and in Asheville you can visit the Botanist and Barrel Tasting Room.

In this Cider Chat

Lyndon and Amie were interviewed while attending CiderCon 2024 in Portland Oregon. They provide tips on how to approach their products when visiting the tasting room.

  • Try a flight. There are four flight options.
    • Sour and Spice Flight
    • Barrel aged
    • Any thing goes
    • Hybrids and co-ferments
  • The ciders and co-ferments of Botanist and Barrel
  • Tips for working with family members
  • Visiting the tasting rooms

Contact and Visit Botanist and Barrel

Mentions in this Cider Chat

go to CiderChat.com to find over 400 episode with from makers around the world


There’s a whole world in a glass of cider, and Cider Chat is your invitation to explore it. Hosted by award-winning cidermaker and writer Ria Windcaller, this podcast travels far beyond the bottle to meet the people who make the global cider culture so vibrant. Each conversation is a journey-you might find yourself in a heritage orchard learning the history of forgotten apple varieties, in a bustling taproom with an importer explaining regional traditions, or in a kitchen with a chef pairing cider with unexpected foods. The discussions get into the delightful nuances, too, whether that’s the semantics of what we even call this drink or how the concept of terroir translates from soil to sip. It’s not just about production; it’s about the community, the travel, and the stories that fermentation unlocks. This is for anyone curious about the craft, history, and sheer enjoyment of fermented apple juice in all its forms. So, pour a glass and settle in for a series that feels like a wide-ranging, informative, and genuinely good-humored chat with friends who happen to be obsessed with cider. You’ll come away with a deeper appreciation for every effervescent, tart, or sweet sip, hearing directly from the growers, makers, and enthusiasts who are shaping this drink’s exciting present and future.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 501

Cider Chat
Podcast Episodes
209: CiderCon2020 Insider Tips [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:25
The 10th Annual American Cider Association trade conference CiderCon will be held in Oakland California, January 28th through to January 31, 2020. This episode provides an overview on the following topics: Oakland weathe…
208: Calvados and Apple Brandy Tasting [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:15
The tables are set with 6 stemmed glasses per person, each holding a tasting of Calvados or American Apple Brandy. There are over 60 settings. It is a sold out night. At 6:30 pm, the house lights are lowered and it is re…
207: Redfield Cider Bar and Bottle Shop | Oakland, CA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:27
Redfield Cider Bar and Bottle Shop is located in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland California. Owners Olivia Maki and Mike Reis opened the doors to patrons in January of 2019. Olivia Maki and Mike Reis of Redfield Ci…
206: Oakland's Crooked City Cider | CA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:24
Crooked City Cider Tap House is located in the Jack London Square area of Oakland California. A mere stone's throw away in the Square you can take the fast speed ferry to San Francisco and other nearby ferry hops, making…
205: City Cidermakers at Duckchicken | London [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:01
Duckchicken makers Colleen O'Sullivan and James Mann are based in South London. Colleen is a certified Arborist and works as a Tree Officer in London and James works in "Knowledge" at a law office in London. Duckchickens…
204: Steve Selin |South Hill Cider, NY [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:34
Every Tuesday, when Steve was growing up, his Dad would be out that evening drinking cider with friends at the Cider Cellar, at the farm outside of Buffalo. That memory is his first on cider. Years later this professiona…
203: The Business of Cider | FLX Cider House, NY [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:11
Good Life Farm was started in 2008. On this same spot of land overlooking Cayuga Lake after the barn was built, the Finger Lakes Cider House opened 6 years later in 2014. Both the farm and the Tasting Room and Cidery wer…
202: Walkabout at Redbyrd Orchard | NY [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:28
"Everything about cider started for me in this old orchard, up the road." Says Eric. That abandoned orchard which first inspired Eric isn't there anymore, but he recalls the wild seedling trees that were growing in the h…
201: Ian Merwin PhD | Black Diamond Cider, NY [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:58
Where does a Cornell University Pomologist do upon retirement? They start a cidery, of course! Ian Merwin says, founding Black Diamond Cider, in Trumansburg, New York is his 4th career. He has lived in California, Chile,…
200 Cheers for #ciderGoingUP [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:50
#ciderGoingUP is a favored hashtag that I have been using since the first year of this podcast, so it was a natural title for this milestone episode number 200. Some podcasters pod fade (end their shows quietly and never…