A sixth-generation apple farm turned cidery with New York's largest cider taproom — a dozen-plus taps of bone-dry cider, a wall of vintage pinball machines, and orchard views running out toward the Shawangunks.
Heads upWeekends only; Friday-Sunday hours have changed—check website. Closed Mon-Fri. No reservations; first-come seating. Bring cash for some vendors. Beautiful in fall and summer; plan ahead for special events.
Bad Seed Cider Company sits on a working apple orchard in Highland, born out of a conversation between two childhood friends, Albert Wilklow and Devin Britton. Albert is a sixth-generation apple farmer whose family has worked Hudson Valley orchards for generations; Devin brought the brewing know-how. They started in the summer of 2011 on savings and one stubborn idea: make cider all the way dry, with none of the residual sugar most commercial ciders lean on. Albert's wife, Kortney, came up with the name and now runs a good share of the business alongside them.
The taproom is a working cider house you can walk through: 12-plus taps, a look at the production floor, and a 16-machine vintage pinball arcade tucked in next to the bar. Outside there's picnic seating, fire pits, cornhole, and orchard views running toward the Shawangunk Ridge. A food truck rotates through on weekends alongside their own brick-fired pizza kitchen.
Weekend-only hours (Saturday and Sunday, closed the rest of the week) mean the cider list is worth checking ahead. The flagship dry rotates alongside seasonal fruit batches and one-off experiments you'll only find at the taproom. Kids run the lawn while the pinball machines draw the adults; the farm also works as a low-key wedding venue, with an indoor cider house and an outdoor ceremony spot on the orchard grounds.