**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** HARD (ALCOHOLIC) CIDER IS AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR, VALUE-ADDED APPLE PRODUCT/PROCESS. CIDER IS PRODUCED PREDOMINANTLY BY SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED APPLE GROWERS/PROCESSORS WITHIN RURAL COMMUNITIES. SINCE 2016, HARD CIDER SALES HAVE PLATEAUED IN THE US PREDOMINATELY DUE TO A LACK OF SENSORY IDENTITY THAT IS DISTINCT FROM BEER OR WINE. COMMUNICATING PRODUCT QUALITY IS A COMMON AND PRESSING PROBLEM SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS FACE IN EFFECTIVELY MARKETING THEIR PRODUCTS, AND PARAMOUNT TO THE CIDER INDUSTRY. WITHOUT A CLEAR SENSORY-MARKETING LEXICON TO COMMUNICATE WITH CONSUMERS, PRODUCERS AND GROWERS WILL NOT BE PROFITABLE IN THE LONG TERM. THIS RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A SENSORY LEXICON (VOCABULARY) FOR AMERICAN HARD CIDER, IDENTIFY WHICH CIDER PROFILES CONSUMERS VALUE, AND DEVELOP PRODUCER TOOLS TO COMMUNICATE THESE PROPERTIES. SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL USE MIXED-METHODS, SENSORY-EVALUATION RESEARCH TO DEVELOP AN EVIDENCE-BASED CIDER SENSORY LEXICON; DETERMINE WHICH SENSORY PROPERTIES DRIVE CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT AND PURCHASING THROUGH REVEALED- AND STATED-PREFERENCE ECONOMIC EXPERIMENTS; AND CREATE AND DISSEMINATE MATERIALS AND TRAINING FOR CIDERMAKERS THROUGHOUT THE NORTHEAST AND NATIONALLY. IN DEVELOPING A RESEARCH-BASED SENSORY LANGUAGE FOR AMERICAN CIDERMAKERS, WE WILL ENHANCE THE ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF CIDER PRODUCERS BY IDENTIFYING MARKETING LANGUAGE TO INCREASE DEMAND. THE ACTIVITIES PROPOSED HERE ARE SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE STAKEHOLDERS IN THE CIDER AND APPLE INDUSTRIES HAVE EXPRESSED THE NEED FOR A SENSORY-MARKETING TOOL.