It is amazing! As soon as the sun come out in Ireland (and to be honest that doesn’t happen too often) we have a pavlovian response to crave cider. I think we can thank a very well marketed commercial cider brand for that. The excellent thing about that cider is that it whetted our palates for lots of lovely artisan ciders. These crafted ciders; full to the brim with apple-y yum-ness, are incredibly delicious, work well with food and really are the closest thing we have to Irish wine.

Like wine, cider is a fermented rather than a brewed beverage. There are many cider makers selecting apple varieties and blending juices with the same care an attention to detail that wine makers approach making wine, some even produce vintage cider celebrating the uniqueness of each year’s harvest. The Orpens Cider guys have a background and history in wine and there is even a wine maker making cider in Ireland. Simon Tyrrell makes very fine wine in the Rhône Valley and with Angus Craigie produces Cragies Irish Cider.

Cragies produce 2 ciders in very contrasting styles, Ballyhook flyer and Dalliance.

Ballyhook flyer takes its name form the original Ballyhook flyer, If the legend is to be believed the finest machine to have ever entered the Grangecon Soapbox Derby, below is a photos of it hanging in the Big Shed at the Ballymaloe literary festival of food and wine.

Can you tell from the photo that it’s suspended from the ceiling?

Ballyhook flyer (500ml RRP  €4.50-€5 ABV5.8% ) 2012 is a made from a mixture of Dabinett, Katy, and Bramley apples, sourced from dedicated apple growers in Co.Waterford, Co.Tipperary and Co. Kilkenny. It is a crisp, fruity off dry cider with a lovely savoury note which makes it a great match for cheeses, pork and chicken dishes.

Dalliance ( 375ml €4.49- €5 ABV 5.8%) is a totally different style, I like to drink it as you would a sparkling wine or prosecco, dry, fresh, crisp  green apples flavours  with a lovely perfumed apple blossom on toast nose.I sounds a bit of an odd description but nose it and see!) It’s gorgeous and would be a super and unique wedding welcome reception drink. It’s made exclusivly from desert apples and is left to rest on its fermentation lees for 18months before bottling, apparently it’s all set to age for up to 24 months in bottle.

Orpens Cider (375ml  €2.69 ABV 5.3) 

Orpens fruit is carefully selected from quality orchards that produce a balanced range of apple varieties. The apples are fermented to cider as single batches and blended together to create a signature style. The result is a complex, layered cider with an extra clean, crisp apple character and a fresh citrus-y finish.

This attention to datail makes it a perfect food cider. Orpens also works super well in  punch or as an alternative to sparking wine in a kir, just add a drop of black currant liqueur or even some elderflower St. Germain would be just gorgeous!

Tempted? Cider: Summer sweet (500ml RRP €4.20- €4:50 ABV 5%)

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