The idea for Hardball Cider hit founder and CEO Geoffrey Deen out of the blue while on a business trip a few years ago. He had always wanted to work for himself and find a way to incorporate his lifelong passion, the great game of baseball.

Hard cider has become increasingly popular over the last few years, and we're proud to include Liberty Ciderworks as our first-ever cider label feature.

The duo behind Liberty's award-winning cider is Rick Hastings and Austin Dickey, career architects who have joined forces to turn their cider hobby into an enterprise. With a unique bottle and slick label design, the Spokane-based cidery clearly understands the importance of great packaging as a key part of brand messaging.

Washington state is synonymous with apples. So it's no surprise we're leading the mighty resurgence of apple-based alcoholic beverages known as hard cider.

And just like craft beer before it, hard cider is in a frenzy of experimentation with new blends and flavors are constantly appearing. Cidermakers are crafty and creative, and we're seeing that spirit carried over to labels and packaging. So what's the deal with hard cider?