Most "early" tomatoes are not known for great flavor. Sungold, as noted would be the exception. I'm quite fond of Moskvich and find it to have a good, rather sweet flavor.

Agree with Linda about the often noted taste of most all the early varieties so "great" flavor isn't a realistic goal with them.

That said, I think it is relatively easy to beat the flavor of 4th of July (blah). I prefer Matina and Clear Pink Early, even Siletz or Kimberly. Even common Early Girl has more flavor than 4th does.

Of course with all the varieties, the degree of earliness and the flavor also depends on the growing conditions provided, not just the variety.

Dave

^^^ what they said.

If you want a disease resistant hybrid to add to the mix, also consider "New Girl" which is rather sweet and early, and I think is closer to Early Girl sized than Fourth of July. The seeds are out there but not as widely available and I will be growing it in fall. Another quite early similar smaller-sized red tomato that trumps 4th is the OP "Bloody Butcher" you could add to the above suggestions.

PC

Burpee also has variety Early Treat with same DTM as 4th of July. I'm growing both this year to compare.

Problem is that you can hardly compare a slicer to a cherry tomato even if the slicer is only 4-5 oz. Almost any cherry/grape variety is going to be early and I typically grow 25 varieties for that reason but for certain uses a cherry type just doesn't cut it. The surprising thing that I want to mention is that Big Beef fruits are usually starting to ripen for me about a week after SunGold. All of those varieties mentioned thus far are Indeterminate varieties. You can usually speed things up a little by growing a Determinate hybrid. IMO this whole discussion is sort of a self trial since your own DTM results will vary. I totally agree with the labeling that Sand Hill Preser. uses- Early, Mid or Late. As with sweet corn it is sometimes a good idea to pay less attention to DTM and just start plants a bit earlier.

The past two years, Big Beef has been my first tomato of the season. Two years ago, it was my earliest tomato ever (aside from some cherry varieties).

Matina has always been anything but early for me. Even Cherokee Purple beat Matina for a ripe tomato last year.

Thanks Linda, I just remembered, I tried Moskvitch last year, and it didn't grow well for me. But most of my tomatoes and peppers didn't do well, so I'm unsure if it was just a bad year.

Dave, I’ve already ordered all the seed I’m planning on, but I always add a few plants from the nursery in the spring. I’ll put Matina and the others on my list. I think it will be a matter of what is available, but the nursery I use has a good selection.

PC, I just found some old seed for Bloody Butcher in my stash and I’m testing to see if it will still germinate. Thanks.

Barrie, I’m not paying much attention to DTM, but rather comparing what I grow to each other and whatever ripens first is an ‘early’ for me. [g] You’re right, maybe a determinate is worth trying.

Nitsua, I have Cherokee Purple on my list to try this year. Here are the other tomatoes I’m trying…

Black Cherry - Black Prince - Cherokee Purple - Sungold - Hog Heart - Mountain Princess

Not sure if any of those might give me a shot at a productive tomato with flavor. Maybe I should forget about having an early tomato and concentrate on a tasty productive tomato. Would that give me more choices?

Another real good tasting early is Moravsky Div. Potato Leaf, golf ball size, and sweet. I grew it one year and keep forgetting to grow it again.

Just to clarify, I don't want to leave the impression that Big Beef and Cherokee Purple are early varieties. They were just the first to produce ready-to-pick tomatoes for me last year and they substantially beat out Matina, considered an early variety. Furthermore, after their first tomatoes, they weren't really in full production at that point. It was several days before subsequent tomatoes were ready.

I'll be noting Dave's suggestions for other early varieties for the future.
I should probably make it a point to grow at least one cherry each year, but I consider them the appetizer before the main course. Once the bigger tomatoes come along, the cherries tend to get ignored. Or perhaps its just that Sungold is so productive, I actually get annoyed keeping up with picking them.

Thanks Linda, I’ll look for that one.

Dave, if that is the case, then I should be asking, what is the most productive, best tasting tomato? I’ve read a lot of people rave over Cherokee Purple but say it’s not very productive, so is it possible to get great taste and productivity?

Nitsua, I am going to be growing Cherokee Purple anyway. I’ll have to look into Big Beef, I can’t remember if I’ve tried it. I tried Champion last year, recommended by the nursery that I purchased a few plants from. It was not a winner for me.