Are you ready for it? As Indianapolis prepares for the long-awaited Taylor Swift “Eras Tour” dates early next month, Ash & Elm Cider Company is offering something sweeter than fiction to prepare. The “Eras Cider Box” is akin to an advent calendar, featuring 13 different ciders to celebrate the complete works of the already legendary artist.
Each cider flavor represents one of Swift’s 11 albums, with two bonus ciders, including a holiday cider and a “zany” pick.
“It was really fun to go back and create and listen to lyrics from different songs from each era and pair them with a cider,” said Ash & Elm Co-Founder and CEO Andrea Homoya. “We did new labels for each of them and new copy on the back that referenced the song that the cider was from and just kind of wanted to celebrate the variety of her career along with a variety of our ciders.”
Homoya says the idea began last year after the tour dates were announced, with one Swift-themed cider for the weekend…and then grew in the same way as the artist’s popularity. “The more I thought about it, the more I was like no we could we have a year. Let’s do something fun and unique that shows the ways we can be creative on our side.”
The whole process of selecting ciders to match Swift’s extensive catalog took several months. “I didn’t have to rush it,” Homoya said. “We are still running our normal company, so I didn’t have to focus on it that much but it was always kind of in the back of my mind as I was going about other operations. I would say probably by March we had most of them done.”
Homoya started with the most obvious connections, such as the album Red, the track “All Too Well,” paired with Autumn Tide. “It’s our most popular cider and they match perfectly,” she explained. Then, the surprise release of The Tortured Poets Department threw a slight wrench into the plan. “I had to try and force a square peg into a round hole, but I made it work,” she said.
Alongside the 13 ciders is a guidebook. There is a page for each cider where you can put tasting notes with a QR code that’ll go to the Ash & Elm website, where users can view a video of Homoya talking about the cider, how they chose it, and how it was placed to create a fully formed, interactive user experience.
Homoya says the ultimate goal would be for Tay-Tay’s people to hear about the box and get one to her while she is visiting Indianapolis. Time Magazine reports, “The Eras Tour is projected to generate close to $5 billion in consumer spending in the United States alone,” which sets Central Indiana up for an economic boost right before the holidays.
The Eras Cider boxes are available online at erasciderbox.com and in-store on Indianapolis’ near east side and the newly-opened Carmel Tap Room.
The box is $75 and can be shipped to most places in the United States. Shipping is $20.
Taylor Swift plays at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 1, 2, and 3. No, Towne Post cannot get you tickets.
