Jeff Quint, owner of Cedar Ridge Vineyards. Winery & Distillery, pulls a sample from a cask of apple brandy in Swisher on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. (Cliff Jette/SourceMedia Group)

We were just debating pie vs. cake yesterday in the newsroom. Then this came in today from Cedar Ridge Vineyards, perhaps scoring another point for Team Pie:

Cedar Ridge Distillery introduces the latest in their line of premium spirits: Howdy’s Apple Pie Liqueur.  A delicious 40 proof drink made with fresh cider and pure cinnamon, Howdy’s can be enjoyed straight out of the bottle or mixed with brandy (recipe below) and is the perfect addition to a holiday or tailgating party.  It’s apple pie in a bottle!  Howdy’s Apple Pie Liqueur is available now at Cedar Ridge and at local retailers in the Corridor.

THE STORY

“Everyone knew my dad as ‘Howdy’.  There was a small orchard of apple trees on our farm while we were growing up.  Dad taught us how to make all sorts of goodies from the juicy apples, including how to run them through our old wooden hand-cranked apple press and ferment that juice into hard cider.  Howdy’s Apple Pie Liqueur pays homage to my dad, and the good times we shared.”  Jeff Quint, Master Distiller.

ABOUT CEDAR RIDGE

Cedar Ridge Vineyards is a family-owned winery and distillery nestled in the beautiful Iowa countryside between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Iowa, near Swisher. Cedar Ridge produces wines from its own estate-grown grapes. As Iowa’s first distillery since Prohibition, it also crafts its award-winning spirits in small batches in its European-engineered 80-gallon pot still. At first just a dream of Proprietor and Master Wine Maker and Distiller, Jeff Quint, the now lush 5,000 vines and 7,000 square foot winery, distillery, tasting room and event center provide the highest quality wines, spirits and entertainment experience in the area. Visit www.crdistillery.com or www.crwine.com for more details.