Cider
Cider is part of the culture of Britain. Not quite a pre-historic drink, although nearly, but certainly one that has stood the test of time.
Depending what you read, we have been making cider since 3000BC using crab apples, then came the Romans with different varieties of apples, they also spread grapes and wine across what was then called Europe.
Apparently in the middle ages we had a cold snap which killed off a lot of the vines that had been cultivated for then what was hundreds of years. Then the French were difficult again in the 1700s for some reason and wine wasn’t that easy to come by and became quite expensive. So Mother being the necessity of all invention we upped our cider game here and even invented fine sparkling cider. Before the Frenchman Perignon, given the accolade of inventing the champagne method was even born! More of this from a very good source here https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2008/cider/
Sweet, medium, dry, sparkling, still, rough, smooth, farmhouse and champagne style, there is small batch, pure fruit, mass produced and more, there is a cider for everyone and every occasion.
Its not just in Britain, where apple trees can and have been grown there is a cider culture that thankfully is starting to grow again.
No longer just the tipple of country folk, it travels far and wide and in the UK is now regularly consumed by nearly half of all households on a regular basis. Cider has seen a massive resurgence with brands like Magners and Bulmers swamping the UK market and dragging along a lot of other producers in their wake. Thankfully there is still a lot of room for smaller producers that are sought out by keen cider drinkers.
Quite why it goes down so well on a hot summers day, cold, slightly sparkling, slightly sweet and slightly sour it just ticks so many ticks in so many boxes.
Cider like beer or wine or any other drink is personal. Our palettes are all different.
One exceptional producer is https://www.newtoncourtcider.com/ who crucially not only produce a good range to suit most tastes, but also produce Perry. When we are allowed to travel again, it is well worth a visit but you can buy online.
