A few months ago Francis told me he popped into Bennett’s and they had a cider slushy. I was intrigued but didn’t get a chance to go until December. I was taken by my parents to Bennett’s back in the 70’s and took Francis when he was young and he loved the cider. In other words we were both familiar with the place but hadn’t been in a while.
Bennett’s is located on Garner Road, which was once Highway 53, just west of Upper Paradise. It has always been known for its delicious apples and apple cider. When Francis told me they had an apple cider slushy I should have gone then. When I went the slushy was no longer available as it's available only through the summer into the early fall. But it didn’t matter because it reminded me how good their cider was. Chris was working on the website and told me how much he liked PC cider. That’s when I decided to go to Bennett's to get him some GOOD cider. It’s a small farm market, but with in-house baked baked goods plus a variety of ciders including Cranberry cider. Honeycrisp cider, and instead of slushies for the winter, they make a mulled cider.
The cider is a traditional cider and it is fantastic by itself on ice or you can use it as a mix with a variety of alcoholic beverages if you so choose. It's available throughout the area, but you can only get their Paul Jacks soft cider (non-alcoholic) at the farm. This is a new drink from the cider mill at Bennetts and it comes in 5 different flavours which include, Cranberry, Apple Pie and Grapple (grape apple mix), original Apple as well as Apple Light. So I would suggest stopping by Bennett's to pick some delicious ciders …and more.
Another item that both Francis and I like, is the pull-apart garlic-cheese buns. When I picked up the cider I also grabbed the last 2 of these in-house delicious baked loaves. You can eat the garlic bread made on site as is, but it's best when you heat it up. I'm trying to eat less gluten nowadays but with something like this, it's quite difficult. I thoroughly enjoyed half the loaf myself, washed down with a glass of the above aforementioned cider. Chris picked up his cider and I let him try the garlic-cheese loaves, which were quickly consumed….delicious!
So this January stop by Bennett's for some cider, baked goods and always apples. A Hamilton mainstay you should most certainly visit.
