Showing posts with label Legacy Cider. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legacy Cider. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

A Quart of Ale± #99. On the craft journey with a cider detour: Legacy, Longueville and Mac Ivors

A Quart of Ale± #99

On the craft journey with a cider detour: Legacy, Longueville and Mac Ivors



Longueville House Cider 5.9%, 500ml can Bradleys



..”Refreshing, clean and crisp…it’s how traditional cider used to be before it got all artificial and fake,” say Longueville House of their original cider, a real artisan production.

It arrives in your glass in a dark amber colour but you will see the natural sparkle. The aromas are unmistakably of the orchard where their cider apples, Dabinett and Michelin, grow. And the outstanding autumnal apple flavour of this medium dry cider confirms its authenticity. This is one you swallow and say thanks to the O’Callaghans.


The apples are harvested in late October, once picked they are crushed and pressed together (they don’t over worry about the exact quantity of each of the two varieties) in the Cider Mill on the estate. The pressed juice is left naturally ferment over a period of 2 to 6 months, taking place as a result of the action of the wild yeasts, which are particular to the orchards and environs of Longueville. 

The newly fermented cider is left for a further 6 months resulting in a rich, amber coloured cider, full of character, flavour and taste. There are no added sugars or sweeteners (no chapalisation) colourings, additives, sulphites or preservatives used at any stage during the production and manufacturing process of the ciders. The entire process from growing the apples to the fermentation of the cider is done on the farm.

Legacy Medium Cider 5%, 500ml bottle



Very light orange-y colour here. And it carries a light haze, not so much that you can’t see the fountains of bubbles constantly rising. The nose, not over emphatic, is undoubtedly of apples. It has quite an engaging mouthfeel, a burst of flavour, sweet yes but also well balanced so there’s no excess and it finishes fruity and satisfying, tannins gently gripping the lips as it says goodbye.


This one is a bit like the Alsace Gentil wine as it has no less than six varieties: Elstar (eating), Bramley (cooking), Discovery (eating), Katy (eating), Michelin (cider) and Dabinette (cider). 


They say: “This is a crowd pleasing cider; easy drinking, great flavour profile, natural apple aroma. Great with good friends, a warm sun, a good sporting occasion or kicking back on your own.” 


Legacy have a small passionate team “that love producing the best quality ciders the land can produce in a sustainable way. From blossom to bottle.”



Legacy Dry Cider 5%, 500ml bottle



A very bright  liquid with an orange colour and, like the Medium, it is slightly clouded. Again you can see those bubbles flying up. Natural apple aromas greet the nose. There no shortage of fruit flavours (green apple from locally grown fruit) as it hits the palate but it is, as you would expect, noticeably drier; your lips will tell you! A good bite is how producer Liam McDonell describes it, saying it “is the strong Bramley flavour coming through”. It is well balanced though and quite a thirst quencher.


The Medium Dry is made with three apple varieties; Elstar (eating), Bramley (cooking) and Michelin (cider). “Elstar is a floral light cider that sits in the background, Bramley is the big bold mouthful and Michelin is a beautiful sweet French cider apple that gives a soft caramel flavour and a lingering dryness”. The blend has a crisp dry finish.

“This is a great cider with oily fish and white meat. It has a strong acidic backbone so it is able to cut through rich flavours and compliment. The high carbonation coats the tongue and cleanses the palate.”

By the way, this is a favourite of Liam’s. Our session here ended on a split decision. I was a little surprised that I had a slight preference for the Medium and not at all surprised that my tasting partner (CL) picked the Dry!


Mac Ivors Juicy Session Cider 4.2%, 330 ml can x 4 Tesco



This session cider pours clean and golden, bubbles galore. Aromas are of the orchard and it is clearly a refreshing one. May not be dry enough for some, but I’d be quite happy with it in a session. It does of course finish dry. It comes in a 330 ml can and, after a check for stockists, I found mine in a 4-pack in Tesco.


They say: Delicious and thirst-quenching, our Juicy Session Cider is made exclusively from hand-picked, Irish-grown dessert apples such as Falstaff, Elstar, Allington Pippin and Golden delicious. This medium dry cider has a simple and refreshing flavour profile and it now comes in a convenient can. Crisp clean finish.


Mac Ivors Cider has its roots in Armagh, known as “The Orchard County”. “Our farm was established in 1855 in the townland of Ardress. Our cider takes its name from our Cider Maker Greg Mac Neice’s grandmother Annie Mac Ivor.”

Some interesting bits on the Mac Ivor packaging:

Armagh grows 4 times as many apples as the rest of Ireland put together.

It takes the juice of 4 whole apples to make every can of our cider.

Every year, we hand pick over 12 millions apples on our family farm.

We have 52 hives bees to pollinate our apple trees. That’s millions of bees!

Monday, March 7, 2022

Legacy Cider. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! A Quart of Ale± #96

Legacy Cider. 


The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

A Quart of Ale± #96

There’s going to be some top notch cider coming your way in Legacy bottles soon. On a visit to the Dungarvan based cidery last week, I got a hint of what is around the corner thanks to owner Liam McDonell. 

And there’s a lot of it here, so no worries about supplies. Some 80,000 litres slowly working its way towards maturity (it takes 6 to 9 months) and more in casks, bottles and other containers that pack the floor of the facility.

The original legacy.


“Since you’re here, why not try some straight from than tank," offered Liam. He explained that they do single variety fermentation here with the blending coming at the end, after much sampling of course!


The Michelin variety is common in cider production and we headed to that tank first. It is a medium bittersweet cider with soft tannins. A few sips and we could see that, while very dry at present (all cider apples are dry), it is, in Liam’s words, “coming along nicely”.

Pat and Liam


Next up was a tank of Elstar and John O’Gold. This was lighter in colour than the Michelin with its characteristic pear drop showing well. Dabinett, another well-known cider apple (which also produces a bittersweet juice), was also true to character. Bramley is well known to cooks and usually eaten cooked due to its sourness and that went down well with CL, much to Liam’s surprise.


He is obviously looking ahead to getting all this liquid bottled and on the way to a wide spread of customers. He’a also looking forward to their cooperation with Cape Clear Distillery who have provided Legacy with some barrels, previously used for gin and for white wine. And they also have some barrel aged cider on the way; the process is quite well advanced and should be ready before the end of the year, certainly for Christmas. Also on the schedule for Christmas and before is an Apple Wine (using those wine barrels from Cape Clear!); it will come in a 750ml bottle.

There be good things here! Patience required.


And what was Liam doing when we arrived? Why, beginning work on their mulled cider for next Christmas. The 2021 edition went down very well but, as they started it in the autumn, the production coincided with their busiest time of the year and caused something of a bottleneck in the premises (which is big but not that big!). It is blended with award-winning Legacy Irish Cider and spiced with winter warming spices including cloves, nutmeg, star anise, cinnamon and more; a heart-warming drink to enjoy with friends and family. By the way, the spent spice mix finds its way to restaurants and into some tasty dishes!


Keep an eye out
 for this later
in the year!
While Legacy Cider is a relative new company, having been started in April 2016, apples have been very much in the McDonell family for at least three generations. Liam's grandfather was one of a number of locals encouraged by the government of the day to grow apples, And there was an apple market right where we were in Dungarvan. Indeed, Liam still uses some small wooden crates in which his grandfather stored and transported the apples. The venture eventually petered out as the group, with no value added, weren’t getting reward enough for their produce.





But the seed had been sown and Liam’s dad Pat took a different route. “My Dad became passionate in apple tree growing, achieved a PhD in the subject and developed his own miniature apple tree!" Pat still runs his own company and is “the chief advisor" at Legacy. As Liam said:  “He’s a wise old sage with over 40 years of experience.” 



No wonder Liam went into apples, eventually going on to found the well-named Legacy. The Legacy Dry was their original cider. Liam is as enthusiastic as ever about it: “It’s my favourite as I think it has a lovely balance between sweet and dry. There is a 'good bite to it' as I’ve been told oftentimes, this 'bite' is the strong Bramley flavour coming through.”


And he is very happy also with their Legacy Medium. “This is a crowd pleasing cider; easy drinking, great flavour profile, natural apple aroma. Great with good friends, a warm sun, a good sporting occasion or kicking back on your own.” This one is a bit like the Alsace Gentil wine: it has no less than six varieties: Elstar, Bramley, Discovery, Katy, Michelin and Dabinette. 


Latest: Catch Liam talking about yeast and more on Beoirfest this coming Saturday. He'll be joined by  Brewpub De Kromme Haring and Eik & Tid who will bring the beer experience. Interested? Register here for free.


Also on this trip:

Dine and Stay at The Tannery

Copper Coast Road

Trip to Mahon Falls in the Comeraghs