Thinking Outside The Bottle With Stonewell Cider. This cidermaker successfully uses hops in his product. Even rhubarb!

Thinking Outside The Bottle With Stonewell Cider

This cidermaker successfully uses hops in his product. Even rhubarb!

Daniel Emerson - more than a cidermaker😉😋

Let us start with the hops. At a recent discussion featuring three cidermakers on BeoirFest, Stonewell’s Daniel Emerson was asked how his stunning Tawny came about. Through a collaboration with local brewer/distiller Sam Black was the answer. “El Dorado hops added complexity and helped balance the extra sugar. “ The initial cider, made with Dabinett and Michelin apples, was bitter and the extra sugar came via capitalisation where sugar was added after fermentation, bringing the ABV to 15%.

The final product is an opulent, complex cider, and has been compared to sweet wine and sherry. Stonewell advise using it as “a slightly chilled aperitif but equally cheese or dessert accompaniment”. At the Ballymaloe LitFest 2016, expert Pete Brown (author of World’s Best Cider) was impressed after tasting it and said it reminded him of a Canadian Ice Cider, “beautiful’.

Daniel explained: "At the end of the process, the cider is very sweet, like an apple ice-cider. We decided to counteract this by passing it through Eldorado dry hops. The result was very good and the Tawny has proved remarkably successful.” And we could all see why. And you can still see why as it is still going strong. I’ve got the 2018 vintage on my desk here!

Cidermakers are regularly experimenting but Davy of Tempted, also on that Beoirfest talk, cautioned about doing it too soon as a producer. “You’ve got to put decent roots behind you and then move on to more refined products like Tawny.” 

I first came across Davy’s excellent ciders in Cahir in 2013 where his dry won out in its class (very competitive, as many cider makers were showing that day). Davy is now getting a name for his barrel-aged ciders and praise too. “Fantastic, incredible character,” enthused Daniel as he tasted the latest bitter-sweet from the Lisburn man.

So back to the story of apple and rhubarb. Back to 2016 where Stonewell’s Rós Cider beat off stiff competition from food and drink producers all over the island of Ireland to be awarded the coveted Supreme Champion title of the 2016 Blas na hEireann, the Irish Food Awards.

Geraldine Emerson from Stonewell Cider at the time: “We use all natural ingredients. The Rós cider has a very pure, clean taste. This award is great because it is recognition for all the work that goes into making it. We’re delighted.” By the way, Davy’s Tempted were also winners on the day!

Rhubarb was and is used in Rós. A local producer offered a lot of it to Daniel. He began to wonder what to do with it and decided to incorporate it in cider. But “extracting juice from rhubarb is a nightmare”. Still, he persevered and it too is still going strong. “You got it right,” declared Liam of Legacy, another cider-maker on the BeoirFest discussion. By the way, Davy is having success using Elderflower in his cider. No wonder himself and Daniel have a great respect for each other!

Recently I got a delivery of tins and jars of tuna from Donegal’s John Shine. I had read somewhere about tuna being used with Mozzarella and that became our focus. Yellowfin Tuna belly in olive oil was the chosen can. A quick trip to the local Dunnes Stores saw us get the Macroom Mozzarella. And then I thought that I had, thanks to my support of the Beoirfest show, a couple of bottles of Rós. One was quickly produced. Well, the Rós got on so well with the tuna and the cheese you’d have sworn they were made for each other. 

It isn’t all about the booze at Stonewell where Daniel and his team produce a really excellent non-alcoholic cider called Stonewell 0%.

I was delighted with the 330ml bottle that I recently bought in the local O’Donovan’s Off Licence. Light gold colour, no shortage of bubbles rising up. And there’s a fresh fruit aroma. The first thing you notice in the mouth is that this is refreshing, it is dry, crisp, and very much a real cider, a terrific drink after a long walk or a drive. And, of course, you can have a few of these and still drive. They have used typical bittersweet apples here so it’s not lacking in flavour, on the contrary. Very drinkable and very acceptable. Fit for purpose, for sure.

So how do they do it? “Traditionally we’ve been an alcoholic beverage maker, namely cider. So in order for to us to produce a non-alcoholic beverage we’ve had to go back to the drawing board and return to our studies to find out what was the best way to square this circle. Instead of simply trying to make a concoction with fresh apple juice, we opted for the more complex route of removing alcohol from a normal cider.

We fermented a cider using typical bittersweet apples. Once fermented we then used a process of osmosis, or to be precise reverse osmosis to extract the alcohol from the cider. This leaves a lot of the characteristics created by the fermentation process but with the added bonus that there’s no alcohol. At this stage of the process the cider is still “dry” in other words contains no sweetness, so to finish off this blend we add a small amount of apple juice which broadens the mouthfeel…. Made and blended by us in Cork, Stonewell 0% is a refreshing alternative for all those looking to avoid the sickly sweet mocktails or fizzy rock shandys at a social occasion.”

I have tasted quite a few non-alcoholic Irish beers and Irish ciders at this stage and it seems to me that the cider-makers, with Stonewell and Highbank (with their Drivers Cider) showing the way, have made a better fist of the "style" than the beer makers!

* It's not just "exotic" ciders at Stonewell, by the way. They also make classic dry (dry was reported by all three on the Beoirfest as the best seller) and a medium dry along with various specials. More info on their website here.

A Quart of Ale± #20. Terrific Irish Ciders. "Lucky to have each of them"

A Quart of Ale± #20

Moving on over to craft.

Terrific Irish Ciders.

"Lucky to have each of them" 

Cider is one of the most ancient of the alcoholic drinks, made wherever apples are grown. Yet some countries, Canada for example, has a law preventing people calling a liquid cider unless it has apples in the ingredients. There is a huge variety of ciders, from dry to sweet, from clear to cloudy. Once at a gite in France, the owner came over with a cloudy bottle, oil to ease a sticking front door we thought, but no it was a delicious homemade cider and there was a basin of strawberries as well!

Normandy and Brittany (where I then was) are well known for their ciders but it is only in recent years that craft cider has hit Irish shelves. And even here now, there is an amazing variety, especially from Munster, Leinster and Ulster. I have just a few examples below, including a non alcoholic gem from Highbank, and they illustrate the variety and quality available.

Con Traas of the Apple Farm, who produces a superb example himself, was asked a few years ago to give his verdict on a couple of the then new ciders, Longueville and Stonewell. He declined, saying we were lucky to have each of them. I feel the same way about the quintet below and others such as those coming from The Cider Mill in Slane, Dan Kelly (also in the Boyne Valley), and others that you can find here at  Cider Ireland .

Stonewell Medium Dry 5.5%, 500ml bottle Bradley’s of Cork

This County Cork cider is approaching its 10th birthday and is tasting as well as ever. It was their first and  “remains our most popular cider”. It is a classic, very popular here too, and we often order it in restaurants as it goes well with a variety of dishes.

You’ll know it’s Irish by the eye catching Celtic design on the front. Aromas of the orchard invite you in. Light gold colour and squadrons of little bubbles flying up to the top. Terrific wash of sweet apple flavour on the attack and then you note a balancing acidity before a satisfying finish.

They say: We don’t complicate things by using artificial additives, apple concentrate, glucoses syrup or dilute with water. This carbonated cider is best enjoyed as a refreshing thirst quencher, chilled to 7 degrees (watch the ice – whilst it will maintain the chill it can conceal the full flavour!). 

With winter approaching, you can put this out the back for chilling as an overlong spell in the fridge would also hamper the flavour. This medium dry contains approximately 20% cider apples and 80% eating apples. The cider apples provide the astringency in the cider and the structure on which the full, rounder and more citrus characteristics of the eating apples depend. The cider is made from Irish grown apples and the varieties used are Dabinett, Michelin, Jonagored and Elstar.

Highbank Organic  “Drivers Cider” 0%, 330ml bottle Bradley’s of Cork

I’m walking through long rows of apple trees, all in blossom, pink and white abound. The grass between is ankle height, lush and liberally populated with white daisies. Lush, but recently topped. Had I been there a week earlier, I would have seen battalions of dandelions.

I was in Kilkenny, in the healthy heart of Highbank Orchards, an organic farm owned and managed by Rod and Julie Calder-Potts. It is here they grow their apples and make their ciders (and more), including this one.

Made from organic cider apples from the Highbank farm, Drivers Cider is a refreshing non-alcoholic drink for the designated driver with no added sugar or chemicals. This Blusher apple limited vintage is Single Estate (grown, distilled and bottled at Highbank Farm) and no sugar or sweeteners have been added. 

It is a bit sweeter than the Stonewell but finishes dry. It’s a delicious well-flavoured drink and really works well with food as we found out during the Sunil Ghai Special Lunch in Sage last year. Any drink that pairs well with Asian is worth noting, especially when you’re driving home afterwards. In fact, we enjoyed the pairing so much, we bought a second round of the Highbank! Probably one of the best of the Irish non alcoholic drinks.

Johnny Fall Down “Late Apples” 2017 5.5%, 500ml bottle Bradley’s of Cork

Light gold colour, no shortage of bubbles. No mistaking the orchard aromas. This one comes on strong, packed with complex flavour, smoky and spicy with a lingering dry finish. One for your short list for sure, from the new kids on the block at Killahora. 

At a tasting earlier in the summer, Killahora’s Barry said this Late Apples is driven by 30% Dabinett and lots of French varieties, some inedible as a fruit. And that this is designed “for food”. They suggest it is also one for the red wine drinkers and point the white wine drinkers in the direction of their Early Apples issue.

They say: "We work on what the year gives us. In the cidery, we do as little as possible to it. This deeper bittersweet, medium-dry cider is made from the late ripening, rare varieties of apples in our Cork orchards. Pair with darker meats, spicy food, cheese and oily fish.” Serve chilled, no ice!

Killahora was founded by two cousins, Barry Walsh and Dave Watson, with the goal of growing the best rare apple and pear varieties on Irish soil and to use artisanal techniques to turn them into award winning drinks. 

Dave brings a passion for and encyclopaedia-like knowledge of apple and pear trees, while Barry brings the wizardry of fermenting, blending and creating new drinks. “We make everything as naturally as possible with minimum intervention and use wild fermentation.Everything is handmade on site with 100% fresh juice and we take our time, allowing our products to mature for up to a year to get the most complexity of flavour.”

Highbank “Proper Irish Cider” 2016 6%, 500ml bottle Bradley’s of Cork

This organic cider from Kilkenny’s Highbank Orchard has an amber colour, with fountains of bubbles rising. Aromas are tart and true to the orchard fruit. On the palate, it is just amazing, this masterpiece of deliciousness and refreshment and then that dry finalé. If Bach had made cider, he’d have been happy to put his name to a bottle like this, precise and satisfying from first drop to last.

They say: This traditional, dry cider grown and produced by Highbank Orchards Matured on its wild yeasts Highbank Proper Cider has no added sulphites, no added sugar and is Irish Organic with naturally high tannins. A delicious, refreshing drink, Proper Cider should be served chilled over ice particularly with a fish course.

Highbank Organic Orchards, owned and run by Rod and Julie Calder-Potts, produce their ciders in small batches with an emphasis on pairing ciders with different foods. All organic, with no added sulphites and gluten free, the cider apples are from Highbank’s own organic trees grown on Highbank Organic farm in County Kilkenny. It is a beautiful farm and this is a beautiful cider.

Longueville “Mór” Cider 8%, 500ml bottle Bradley’s of Cork

Longueville harvest

This Longueville House cider had a clear amber colour and pleasing orchard aromas. This is a medium cider with a delicious full flavour, slight touch of tannins (on the lips) and a satisfying finish. Rubert Atkinson of Longueville: “No ice! It waters down the flavours and kills the sparkle. Enjoy this like a wine, in a wine glass.”

Longueville House (near Mallow, Co. Cork) grow two varieties of cider apple, the Dabinett and the Michelin - “No chemicals and no pesticides”. The regular Longueville House Cider, has an abv of 5.9%. The sugar is natural and they use no extra sulphites. 

Longueville’s Mór gets its higher abv (8.00%) and distinctive flavour from fermentation (1 year) in their just-emptied apple brandy casks. “It is the same juice as the regular cider but is more robust, has more character, more flavour, well rounded, well balanced, really lovely.” I couldn't agree more! Made from 100% fresh apples. Contains only naturally occurring sulphites.

They say: William O'Callaghan and his father Michael before him have been fermenting exceptional craft cider and distilling Ireland's only Apple Brandy now for almost 35 years. We have brought the cider and brandy production to another level while maintaining the very natural and respectful processes of our fore fathers, the terroir and sustainability - crushing, pressing, fermentation, filtration, light carbonation, pasteurisation - all while using no pesticides, fungicides, insecticides or any other ‘cides in our orchards. 

One way they counter the aphids, a tiny bug that can do enormous damage, is to encourage the hoverfly by planting the likes of Fennel, Angelica and Yarrow. These attract the hoverfly, a natural enemy of the aphid.

Cool Cider Guys Live as Thundershower Rattles Ballymaloe's Big Shed. Amazing Samples as Drinks Theatre Reopens

Three Talk Cider as Thundershower Rattles The Ballymaloe Big Shed.

Amazing Tasting as Drinks Theatre Reopens with Live Event!

The humble apple was the star of the show as live events returned to the Drinks Theatre in the famous Big Shed at Ballymaloe. On Saturday evening, Barry Walsh (Killahora Orchards), Pascal Rossignol (of Le Caveau, representing Eric Bordelet of Normandy) and Rubert Atkinson (Longueville Beverages), came laden with good things and proudly and passionately spoke on how the drinks were produced.

“Seamus McGrath had been talking about events post lockdown, and we came up with this mad idea,” said Colm McCan as he introduced our trio. Colm promised the series would continue every Saturday through August and the next event features all drinks sparkling.

Cider with (l to r): strawberry, elderflower, ginger.

Expect a surprise or two. The organisers themselves were “ambushed” on Saturday last when the session had to be extended a little as both Barry and Rubert produced surprises, neither has seen a shop shelf yet and each is delicious. 

Rubert came with his ABC: apple, brandy and cream. That cream comes from Ballymaloe’s Jersey cows. ”Enjoy like a Baileys. It is lovely and light and weighs in at 17% abv.” Barry spoke about their exciting champagne style cider, no name yet but due for release later in the year. ‘Based on 40% wild apples, it is quite a robust and interesting drink with the acidity coming from the hedgerow apples. It is clear and naturally carbonated and has been rested on its lees, is fermented in bottle and, like champagne, has been disgorged.” Another beauty to look forward to from Killahora.

Perry Poiré

All three producers frown on ice with their quality ciders, all backing Barry on that as he introduced his Johnny Fall Down Early Apple Cider, a slightly lighter version than the Late Apple. He said you could think of the two as a white wine and a red wine. 

The Early Apple (picked earlier) is “100% juice — wild ferment — a year or more maturation —very dry — tannin a strong feature — bitter sharp, bitter sweet — pairs well with food especially seafood and bbq.” The Late Apple, both were vintage 2017 by the way, is driven by 30% Dabinett and lots of French varieties, some inedible as a fruit. And again this is designed “for food”.

Rubert also had ciders on his stand. The regular, Longueville House Cider, has an abv of 5.9%. “No chemicals and no pesticides” and he told how the estate benefits from the River Blackwater flowing through. They grow two varieties of apple here, the Dabinett and the Michelin. The sugar is natural and they use no extra sulphites. Longueville’s Mór gets is higher abv (8,00%) from fermenting in their apple brandy casks. “It is the same juice as the regular cider but is more robust, has more character, more flavour, well rounded, well balanced, really lovely.” I can agree with all of that! 

When Eric Bordelet was starting off, some 30 years ago, he was advised to make “poiré as winemakers make wine”. Pascal has known Eric, a biodynamic grower, for decades and says while he has the 30 years behind him, he is still learning, even now with the challenges of climate change. “Back in 1992, he noted a gap at the top of the market but also realised he needed granitic soil”.

Cider colours: Killahora, Normandy, Longueville

With all that sorted - I didn’t quite get the details here as a thunderstorm rattled the old shed - Eric has become one of the most renowned cider and perry makers in the Normandy region. We had his Sidre Brut, a classic dry cider, tender or mellow in the mouth, yet also lively with plenty of acidity and extremely refreshing in front of us now. “It is made from 20 varieties and fermentation goes on for much longer than his other products, bottling in May or June, the exact time decided by tasting.”  Eric’s training as a sommelier helps him pick the correct moment.

And that experience and training also come into play with his Poiré Authentique. This juice spends just  2 to 3 months in barrel as Eric seeks “the main balance he wants” between sugar, acidity and tannin. “It is all about subtlety.” And we could appreciate that as we sipped this refreshing perry. It is made from about 15 varieties of pears. By the way, Pascal confirmed that some of Eric’s pear trees are over 300 years old!

Barry (l), Pascal and Rubert (r).

When it comes to pears, Killahora has no less than 40 varieties on their south-facing slopes in Glounthaune. They have a lovely 2017 Poiré (Perry) as well. Barry: "A slight floral nose - a Pet’ Nat style - not too many bubbles - lemonade, gooseberry, slight smokiness - - we use only wild fermentation - no temperature control, only the small barn - everything is vintage based.”

At half-time, our trio didn’t produce the oranges but we did have some refreshing fruit ciders. Three big colourful jugs appears and ice was now allowed! One had elderflower mixed in, another had ginger, while the third was made up with strawberry. All absolutely delicious and refreshing and Rubert encouraged us all to make them ourselves. “Use a good base cider like the ones in front of us and experiment to find what your favourite taste is. You don’t have to rush off to the supermarket to buy this type of drink. Support local and see how versatile cider really is.”

Killahora's Late Apple, their sparkling cider, and Longueville's Mór

The ABV went up a bit as we approached the final round, beginning with Killahora’s Pom’O. Barry: “The last pick of the apples, bitter-sweet with apple brandy and hedgerow added. It is aged in fairly neutral Irish whisky barrels and this 2018 has a great balance between the freshness of the apple and the alcohol. It’s perfect with dessert, particularly with blue cheese, and, not too sweet, not too strong, is also perfect for cocktails.”

Then he produced their Apple Ice Wine. “We’re very happy with its reception. This is 11% abv, depends on the vintage. We freeze the juice, then slowly thaw it to increase the concentration of flavour and tannin and so. Sweet yes but the must have acidity is there. Great with goats cheese, with cheese in general. It is 100% natural, just juice.” An amazing drink and no wonder it is getting so much attention.

Longueville House Apple Brandy is well-known at this stage and has picked up many an award. “Very smooth, no burning, and with a lovely aftertaste,” said Rubert. “It is a quality spirit and as such does not need a mixer or ice. Enjoy!” 

We did enjoy that final sample as we had enjoyed the event from the first flight (Perry) to the smooth farewell from the brandy. A superb opening to the series which continues here next Saturday with all kinds of bubbles on show.

Drinks Theatre Summer Series: Cider, Perry and Mór

Drinks Theatre Summer Series: Cider, Perry and Mór

Colm McCan has been in touch with details of the first event of the Summer Series pop up drinks talks & tastings at the rustic Drinks Theatre at Ballymaloe.

"We are delighted to welcome Barry Walsh of Killahora Orchards Glounthaune East Cork - Rubert Atkinson of Longueville Beverages, Mallow, North Cork - Eric Bordelet Normandy represented by Pascal Rossignol of Le Caveau

Saturday 25th July, 5pm, Drinks Theatre at Ballymaloe €15 pre booking essential eventbrite. Fully seated, socially distanced, restricted numbers." Link is here

Summer’s Here. Lunch and Sculpture. Both Al Fresco at Ballymaloe

Summer’s Here. Lunch and Sculpture. 

Both Al Fresco at Ballymaloe

Al Fresco at Ballymaloe. "Contemplation" in copper by Helen Walsh

These are the days. Lunch al fresco at the Garden Café Truck by the Ballymaloe Cookery School. And another impressive sculpture exhibition on the lawn in front of Ballymaloe House. And new this summer is their own Ballymaloe Cider. Try it while you’re there.

Actually, let me start with the cider. You’ll find it in the bar at Ballymaloe House where Traford Murphy is the genial manager. It comes in a 500ml bottle and the ABV is 5.2%. It is made from apples from the Ballymaloe House orchards, also from trees across the farm and alongside the appropriately name Orchard Cottage. Varieties included Dabinett, Crimson Bramley, Santana, Topas, Delles Bell and Dellinquo, plus other old varieties.

It has an amber colour, fountains of little bubbles rising. Packed with intense flavour, pleasant and refreshing all the way to a lip-smacking finish. One of the drier craft ciders around and definitely one to try.

Trifecta

So suitably refreshed, let us pop out to the lawn. You’ll can’t miss the “congregation” of sculptures here but you’ll see too that the old golf course is now a meadow. Should be quite a feature in a year or two. 

The sculptures are curated by Richie Scott www.rssculpture.com and are generally not as large as they were in previous years. There are still some big ones though, most notably The Bear (this time with The Cub), both in stainless steel by Patrick O’Reilly. There are, as always some quirky ones. I liked the bronze Goat by Seamus Connolly and the marble Venus of Holles Street by Jason Ellis.

Diver

There are over forty pieces in all and Michael Quane is well represented and I enjoyed his Diver in Carrara marble. My favourite piece though (after two visits) is the Trifecta, featuring a trio of hounds in a race. Trifecta is a bet in which the person betting forecasts the first three finishers in a race in the correct order. Might be hearing less of that after the current controversy in the greyhound industry.

Never much of a gamble when you visit the Garden Café Truck by the Ballymaloe Cookery School. You are guaranteed a win here as the food is excellent, based on very local produce indeed. Of course, if you cannot make it over to the school, you’ll eat well too at the cafe behind the shop in Ballymaloe House.

Farm Salad

We did make it to the school and enjoyed our hour or so there. It is all pretty informal, your tables and chairs sheltered by a “tent”. Just check out the menu boards, make your choice, order and pay, and your food will be brought to your table.

If the day is hot, and we hope they will be for some time to come, then the Cold Cucumber Soup will go down well. Lots of other cool drinks on offer including Elderflower cordial, Homemade lemonade, or organic raw milk. Anyone fancy a Strawberry Popsicle?

Mocha Choca Yumma

Some beautiful salads and sandwiches on the board too. The menu is short, as you’d expect, and can vary from day to day. The Hot and Spicy Slow Roasted Lamb Taco, with chipotle mayo, hot sauerkraut, cooling avocado, and fiery rocket, is a favourite here over the past few years and I enjoyed that while CL was delighted with her Farm Salad.

The Cookery School is noted for its top quality on the bakery side and you are strongly advised to take advantage. I’d say any cake on the day (there are usually two) will be delicious but my favourite is perhaps the Mocha Choca Indulgent Cake, not that the Tahini Cake is far behind. Enjoy those with a cup of their excellent coffee.

Taste of the Week. Award-winning Longueville House Cider

Taste of the Week
Award-winning Longueville House Cider

Longueville House Cider 5.5%, widely available in 500ml bottle

The big thing you notice, aside from the golden colour of this medium-dry cider and the rich aromas of the autumn in the 24-year old orchard, is that the flavour is long and deep, like the mighty Blackwater that flows by the Longueville Estate near Mallow, Co. Cork. 

The balance, between the estate grown fruit (25 acres) and the acidity, is remarkable, hinting that the production process is precise. But this is not measured, not weighed, at least not in any industrial sense. Remember this is all comes together in an old bare-walled farm shed, using “machinery”, for the apple brandy in particular, that is just as likely to be seen in a folk museum or come across in a secondhand sale.

Two varieties of apple, Michelin and Dabinett, are grown in Longueville. The amount of each variety is not measured. They are gathered up together and go into the old oak press together. Nothing is added. Irish Distillers ace cooper Ger Buckley told me recently that, when reassembling a barrel, he judges everything by eye. Cider making in Longueville is something similar: by eye, by smell, by touch, by intuition, the basic tools of an artisan honed by years of experience.

Put them all together as they have in this North Cork estate (a proud member of the Old Butter Roads Food Trails) and the result is this superb cider, yours to savour, the pleasing sensation of the orchard fruit, long and deep on the palate and its refeeshing finalé. With no artificial sweeteners, additives, colourings, preservatives or added sulphites, this is a true craft cider. 

Do not spoil the effort of the land and the human hand with ice. Longueville’s Rubert Atkinson (pictured above) advises: “No ice! It waters down the flavours and kills the carbon. Enjoy this like a wine, in a wine glass.” Chill it well and pair with fish, meat (especially pork), cheese, charcuterie or simply on its own.

* Back in the mists of time, these Longueville lands were owned by a Daniel O’Callaghan but, after the collapse of the 1641 rebellion, O’Callaghan’s lands went to Cromwell. Amazingly, the wheel came full circle in 1938 when the present owner’s grandfather Senator William O’Callaghan bought the property, restoring it to the same family clan of O’Callaghans. You may read all about the centuries in between in a leaflet they hand out at the house and, on the back, is a map of the many and varied walks on the estate! Info also on the website here.

Taste of the Week. “Windvane” Irish Cider

Taste of the Week

The Cider Mill “Windvane” Irish Cider Farmhouse Draught

Another revival (and celebration) of the Irish cider heritage by Mark Jenkinson, the man who brought us the outstanding Cockagee. This Windvane, named after a wind indicator once seen working on many Irish farmhouses, is smooth and rounded, crisp with “the right balance of tannins”. 

The pleasing mid-gold colour draws you in. The rich juiciness of the ripe fruit keeps you sipping and the luscious mellow finish tastes like more. A definite Taste of the Week as was his Cockagee  three years back.

ABV is  5% and, like most Irish craft drinks, is available in Bradley’s of Cork. It comes in a 500ml bottle and costs €4.50. Bradley’s also have the Cockagee.

The Cider Mill

Cornanstown House

Stackallan

Slane

Co.Meath

The web address on the bottle is given as www.thecidermill.ie but it was broken when I tried it at the time of writing.

Con's Irish Cider. The Real Thing!

Con's Irish Cider Medium Dry, 5.5%, 500ml bottle

Got myself some of this delicious cider when I recently called to its “birthplace”, the Apple Farm owned and run by Con Traas near Cahir in County Tipperary.

Provenance needs to be clearly stated these days. This is real Irish cider made from seasonal Irish apples grown on the farm where visitors are always welcome. Indeed, they have a camping site in among the orchards.

A pity that we have to keep banging on abut real cider, real beer, even real food. But there are many producers out there quite willing to muddy the water and often the consumer is confused.

Con has thought long and hard about a definition and has come up with this. Real Irish Cider is made and bottled in its entirety in Ireland using the juice of Irish grown apples, without the routine addition of either water or sugar. See the Apple Farm website for more info.

Con’s Cider has a bright mid amber colour with lots of lively little bubbles. Modest but definite aromas, hints of the fruit. On the palate is where you notice the “real” element, supple and flavoursome, more on the dry side of medium, and with a good dry finish. Enjoy!

That initial burst of flavour in the mouth reminded me of something Brooklyn brewer Garrett Oliver said at Ballymaloe LitFest a few years ago: You hear people say, when they taste a craft beer: This is nice, doesn't taste like beer. He had an explanation: ‘The beer they grew up with didn't taste like real beer!’

Stonewell Seasonal Ciders. Taste of the Week. Taste of the Summer!

Stonewell Seasonal Ciders

Taste of the Week. 

Taste of the Summer!

Stonewell Apple & Cucumber Limited Edition Craft Cider 2017, 5.5%, 330ml bottle.

In 2016, Stonewell won the Supreme Champion Award at the Blas na hEireann Awards in Dingle with their Rós, an apple and rhubarb cider, and their current seasonal is this medium dry Apple and Cucumber.

First thing you notice is the huge difference in colours, the cucumber one looking more like a white wine (with hints of green), though with lots of bubbles. The cucumber comes through, gently, on the nose and on the palate. 

Flavours are probably lighter than the Rós but, if anything, are even more refreshing. A light and moreish flavour, as they say themselves, from this combination of Royal Gala apples and a subtle twist of cucumber.

Rós Apple and Rhubarb Limited Edition Craft Cider 2017, 5.5%, 330ml bottle

The Supreme Champion is an all local amalgam. The rhubarb juice is extracted from the produce of Robbie Fitzsimmon’s East Ferry Farm in Cork and blended with the “soft caressing” flavours of the apple juice.

This new batch has a gorgeous mid-gold (no pink!), with fountains of bubbles. Rhubarb comes through on the palate but its tartness is more than balanced by those soft caressing flavours of the apples. An engaging mix indeed from the small but highly innovative team at Nohoval and you can taste why it won a surprise overall gold at Blas.

Both ciders are vegan and coeliac friendly and each should go well with food. Thinking of a salad in the garden with a bottle of the Apple and Cucumber while the Rós should be ideal with the strawberries. Must set that one up while the sun is out!

Stockists

Stockists for both ciders: Bradley’s Cork; 1601 Kinsale; Blackrock Cellar, Co. Dublin; Gibney’s of Malahide, Co. Dublin; No 21 Lismore, Co.Waterford; Paddy Blues, Gorey, Co. Wexford; Redmond’s of Ranelagh, Dublin; Lilac Wines, Dublin 3; Supervalu Kinsale and Clonakilty; Riney’s Bar, Sneem, Co.Kerry. Matson’s Wine Store, Grange and Bandon, Cork.

You may get the Apple and Cucumber at the following O’Brien’s Wines locations:

Ardkeen, Co. Waterford; Beacon, Dublin; City West, Dublin; Blanchardstown, Dublin; Douglas Court, Cork; Dun Laoghaire, Dublin; Glasnevin, Dublin; Malahide, Dublin; Naas, Kildare; Rathgar, Dublin; Rathmines, Dublin; Templeogue Village, Dublin.

Stonewell Cider 

Nohoval

Belgooly

Kinsale

Co. Cork.