WILLOW CREEK — The Dry Dock restaurant at Thorne’s Bend is betting that what works for Portland and Freeport can work for Willow Creek, launching its own label of hard cider made from locally sourced heirloom apples and O’Flaherty’s maple syrup.
Thorne’s Bend Cider, named for the oxbow curve in the Mattawamkeag River visible from the restaurant’s deck, debuted Friday with a tasting event that drew 75 people. The semi-dry cider, at 6.2 percent alcohol by volume, is produced in collaboration with a contract cidery in Bangor but uses apples from Farr Family Farm’s orchard.
“We’re not trying to be a cidery,” said Dean Moreau, owner of The Dry Dock. “We’re trying to be a destination. People travel for food. They travel for drink. A restaurant that offers something you can’t get anywhere else — that’s a tourism driver.”
The launch positions Willow Creek within Maine’s growing craft beverage tourism sector, which generated an estimated $260 million in visitor spending statewide in 2023. The Maine Office of Tourism has identified craft beverage experiences as a priority for rural development.
Niall O’Flaherty, whose maple syrup provides the finishing note in the cider, said the collaboration represents the kind of cross-business partnership the town needs. “Dean makes cider. Henry grows apples. I boil sap. That’s three local businesses in one bottle,” O’Flaherty said.
Thorne’s Bend Cider is available at The Dry Dock and at the General Store, with plans to expand to select retailers in Presque Isle and Houlton.