Thursday 30 August 2012

Worlds Best Cider: a new kind of cider book

I'd like to start by continuing to apologise for my lack of posting in recent months, I'm still up to my eyeballs and news seem to move faster than I can! 

Anyway, the good news is (drum role please... roll out the Milkthistle....) as you may have already heard on the grapevine (apple tree) I'm co-authoring a new book provisionally titled Worlds Best Cider and its an attempt to highlight just that. Its a massive task, we don't have the time or budget to do everything we'd like, but rest assured the ever patient and uber professional Pete Brown and I have been tasting cider on various continents together since 2010. Even though we've been working on it since then, we've only recently had the official green light so we're gurt chuffed. Its a dirty job, someones liver has to pay the price and we were chosen. 

We want to look at the story of cider, where its made traditionally, the differences between the styles and list the best we can find within those styles. Pete is off to Canada later this week, I'm off to Normandy in 2 weeks and we're both off to the NW States in Oct. So far between us we've also done Brittany, Asturias, Frankfurt, and NE USA (oh and the UK!) Its a joint publication by Jacqui Small UK and Sterling USA and is due to be available late in 2013.

It's a joint venture throughout although according to Pete, it'll be populated with 'Bills loving, evocative imagery.' Talking of which, I've been looking for older, historical images to use early on in the book and came across this today. I doubt we'll use it (although we may) but I wanted to share it because I love the idea that cider inspired people to make and sell shirts in 1959!

How do you like those apples?


3 comments:

  1. all the best with this amazing sounding (ad)venture!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds great.. doles this mean the Guide to Welsh Cider idea has been shelved? Haven't heard any more news on it since it was first announced..

    ReplyDelete
  3. Not at all Adam, thats in production too. Cider books are like buses, you wait ages for one to come along and then three do! Hence my crapness with regular posting. I'll make a song and dance when that comes out. Its due in Spring next year but we'll confirm that nearer the time.

    ReplyDelete