Six hundred and eighty-eight readers voted in an informal poll from Oct. 4 to 7, and the Mystic destination, a time-honored tradition since the 19th century, earned the most votes.
B.F. Clyde’s is the oldest steam-powered cider mill in the United States, and has been family-owned since 1881. Clyde’s currently has fourth, fifth and sixth-generation family members working to run the seasonal cider mill, according to its website.
Clyde’s opens each season on Sept. 1, and welcomes guests from well beyond southeastern Connecticut. Visitors show up for the doughnuts and the sweet and hard cider and stay to watch the historic cider press in action every Saturday and Sunday, as clouds of steam billow from its chimney.
The cider doughnuts are the most popular item in the bakery, said Marissa Alfield, a sixth-generation member of the Clyde’s family, who works at the mill and runs its social media. They’re made in-house with the mill’s cider, from a recipe the family has used for “many, many years,” she said.
Other sweets from the bakery include apple turnovers and dumplings, cookies, caramel apples, apple pie and pie pockets.
Apple cider doughnuts are made on site at B.F. Clyde’s in Mystic, using its freshly pressed cider.
Courtesy of B.F. Clyde’s Cider MillClyde’s sweet cider is served cold or as a hot mulled version (get it with caramel for an extra 25 cents) or as an icy cider slushie, available spiked with hard cider for the 21+ crowd. Though the doughnuts are sold separately from the beverages, one of the most popular Instagram shots from Clyde’s features a doughnut as a drink garnish, Alfield said.
“Some people started the trend so long ago and then just kind of became a thing,” she said.
Clyde’s also produces several flavors of hard ciders and apple wines, aged in oak whiskey barrels. Varieties include Spider Cider, with pumpkin spices; Boomerang, with apple cranberry flavors; Blueberry Spinner, Goodfella, with apple and blackberry; and Mystic Mango, with mango and cranberry notes.
Alfield said the cider mill’s history is special to her family. Guests will often say they visited with their grandparents, and now they take their own grandchildren to enjoy the same experience.
“It’s family and tradition, and that’s what sets us apart from a lot of larger corporations, is that we make it personal,” she said. “My family works here, and we’ve hired the best people, and they’ve become family to us.”
The Drunken Donut cocktail from Hogan’s Cider Mill in Burlington, Conn., on Sept. 21, 2022.
Lisa Nichols / for Hearst CT MediaTwo other family businesses earned second and third place in the cider donut poll: Hogan’s Cider Mill in Burlington and Stew Leonard’s grocery store, with Connecticut locations in Danbury, Newington and Norwalk.
Hogan’s, which has been pressing cider since 1912, has been run by the Dunlop family since 1992. In recent years, the cider mill has become a fall destination for its hard cider drinks, including the “Drunken Donut” cocktail, a social media favorite. It’s a drink and dessert in one, with a blend of sweet and hard ciders over ice, topped with a cider doughnut, whipped cream and festive sprinkles.
Stew Leonard’s apple cider doughnuts are a beloved constant at the locally-owned grocery store, made fresh daily on-site at Bethy’s Bakery with Stew’s own apple cider.
