Shepton Mallet Cider Mill Wassail, Stewley Orchard January 2014

Ode to a cocktail

During one of those impulse sessions where you bump into a friend (Bex) you haven't seen for too long so you decide to head to the pub, the subject of cider cocktails arose. In a chance meeting with Ollie the cocktail barman (Bex's friend), I decide to mention my need for some decent cider cocktail recipes for the Haynes Manual I'm currently working on. They're both down in Somerset to do their annual stint serving cider from the infamous Glastonbury Festival cider bus, so it seemed like fate when I realised he would be the chap to ask.

About 2 minutes later -when we realised we couldn't think of any -we got to work. We went to the bar and ordered 3 more pints of cider and, on Ollies advice, some shots of vodka, gin, triple-sec, Drambuie and Amaretto. The barman kindly supplied an knife, cutting board, half a lemon and an apple - so we were set. We grabbed a few empty tumblers, 2 packs of pork scratchings and we were away. My attempt (above) finished as quickly as it started by bunging some Gin in it and garnishing it with a pork scratching over the rim. Luckily Bex and Ollie, both of whom have worked making cocktails were there to guide me. The blending commenced, the successful results will be published at a later date.

Anyway -my point is -  where are all the good cider cocktail recipes that use cider as the main ingrediant? There must be some? There are quite a few that use both apple juice and cider brandy, but middle stage - the cider- seems to get left out.

Can you post some suggestions or your favourites here please?

Somerset Cider Map 2013

At last! 

Someone (a chap called Neil Barrington?) has updated our beloved cider map. The original was printed in 2001 and whilst a very good publication is now somewhat out of date. This is what you need if you ever plan to visit the area and want to meet some of our very best producers. I assume they'll be available as printed copies from various tourist information outlets  - I'll try and grab a few and keep them handy for any of you folks that I'm likely to see.

Brilliant! I have a high res copy of anyone wants one (let I know.)

PGI's don't grow on trees you know

"Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of - for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear."

Socrates

Thankyou Socrates. For the international among you who might be unsure, Protected Geographical Status (PGS) is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) is a legal status awarded to certain foodstuffs within that framework, linking certain products to a specific place. It ensures that only products genuinely originating from that place and made to a certain standard are can legally be identified as such. Its about identifying provenance and protecting the authentic. In the words of the Somerset Cider Brandy producer Julian Temperley 'its a way to stay legal' (which is an interesting paradox coming from the man known in the cider world as the 'bad boy of cider.')

Many people know of Julian - he is an outspoken Somerset based cidermaker who makes fantastic Burrow Hill cider, he runs the iconic Cider Bus at Glastonbury Festival and has also revived the art of distilling Somerset Cider Brandy. The farm is about a 15 minute drive from where I live and one of my local cider farms. Much of the work I have produced has come from Burrow Hill and much of the knowledge and opinion I have has been formed there.

In autumn 2007 whilst the world was unwittingly spending its way toward recession and Julian was just starting to think about pressing his apples, some busy beaver in Brussels decided that the descriptions that outline the regulations of spirits registered within the EU needed 'updating' and by January 2008, with no objections from our government, the term 'cider brandy' was dropped. The regulations still allowed for terms like cherry brandy, apricot brandy and grain brandy even, but curiously not apple brandy, making it illegal for anyone to use the term 'cider brandy' on the label. Of course, making anything alcoholic 'illegal' will only ever make it more popular and If I didn't know better, I would suspect Julian himself of unprecedented levels of guerrilla marketing.

In English, Brandy is a collective noun for distilled spirits made from fermented fruit, and although we've always called it that the change in law suddenly made it illegal to use that phrase anymore despite it being made from APPLES and hard evidence of production by that name here in Somerset as early as 1668! Calvados, Armagnac and Cognac are all regional forms of Brandy, so why, in our own language, can't we continue to use the term cider brandy? It was rather sneakily reclassified as 'cider spirit' which is somewhat more ambiguous (and a whole lot less sexy sounding) due to the fact that some producers in the warmer parts of Yurp were selling excess 'fruit spirit' (after having fulfilled their their own needs) to various countries for use in Vodka. Without that specific term (cider brandy) Julian realised the Somerset Cider Brandy Company would have lost the heritage that underpins the prestige Somerset Cider Brandy has, and even if it did survive, it would never have been the same again.

[Enter hero stage left] Graham Watson MEP:
"There was a whole Armada of Spanish Brandy producers desperate to stop things like cider brandy being on the market. When I learned about this I took up the cudgels on behalf of Somerset Cider Brandy"  Julian and Graham approached the European Commission and whilst they sympathised, they declined to amend the regulation but  promised to support a Somerset Cider Brandy application for PGI status if they wanted to apply.

Getting a PGI is a long drawn out process- its European bureaucracy with bells on. You have to wait 6 months for this and 6 months for that, then another 6 months for public consultation blah blah... at the end of which, if no-one objects, it gets automatically approved.  So it began and continued until, in a last minute and overtly dramatic twist at 4.30pm on April 9th 2010, half an hour away from a PGI, a dossier appears on a desk objecting to its approval. Any objection automatically leads to another 6 months of enforced (and in this case unpleasant) discussion with the objectors. Usually if an adult has a problem they let you know about it and problems are discussed, thats how Brussels likes to work, sensibly. The calculated last-minute appearance of a massive document like this denoted a snider approach to business than the Commission is used to dealing with, something that Julian refers to as the ambush in Brussels "It smelt like a problem from the Scots Whiskey Association. They deny it, but they have form, but it maybe the French, or both." Graham, rather diplomatically, phrases it differently "Ultimately within European politics – unlike the yah-boo of Westminster – it is the norm to work alongside opposing views to reach a satisfactory agreement." And so it continued. I can't go into every detail, its a very complex, long-winded if occasionally humorous saga that I am not intelligent enough to understand entirely. Although, at one stage, a simple grammatical error in an official letter to the Calvados producers association, Julian managed to address the president as 'My darling Mr. Bidou...' to the greatest amusement of the members. The whole rigmarole lasted for 4 long years... until they finally won it 16 votes for, with 1 abstention from Spain (Hola!) in September this year.

I asked Graham what made him go for it 'I was well aware of Julian’s local tipple. When he approached me for advice, I was happy to help. There were several moments through the application where I wondered if we would get agreement especially with those countries that produce the likes of Calvados. They – understandably – wanted to stand up for their producers.  I worked closely alongside Julian, UK civil servants the Commission officials.  I'm pleased to say, that after 4 years campaigning, we finally got PGI status. It was clear from a chain of text messages I was receiving that day that one-by-one Countries were saying they were happy with Cider Brandy’s PGI status. When emails confirming there wasn’t a problem from the likes of Spain and France came through I knew the matter was finally resolved. I am delighted for Julian! It’s a success for him, and for common sense."

Huzzah for common sense, which brings me onto my next point. Ironically, if you search through DEFRAs list of British registered PGI's there is nothing for cider in Somerset... it seems like we don't want one!

The Three Counties (Gloucester, Herefordshire and Worcester) all have PGI protected cider and perry, but Julian went on to explain the the different producers here favour different techniques to suit their specific needs and if you set a PGI (complete with strict production guidelines) the consequence will be a fracturing of the component parts what make up Somerset Cider is. Eg: Julian would push for 95% minimum cider apple juice, other (larger) producers would push for far less (no more than 40%) because they are significantly larger, more commercial operations and couldn't survive as they are using 95% fruit. Although not artisan (and to die hard cider snobs therefore 'inferior' - yawn) the larger industrial cidermakers in throughout the UK play an important role, selling huge amounts of cider in supermarkets and pubs giving structure to the industry. Part of Somerset Ciders particular appeal is that its so difficult to define definitely and we do have industrial scale cidermakers here that need to be considered too. Trying to pin down precisely the things a PGI status should protect would only split the region, and create a civil war within the counties cidermaker, the last thing we want.

I heard Julian talking to Slow Food about distilling and he summed it up this way'

 'Thats what we're really known for here... as distillers of traditional apples. It requires apples coming from known orchards grown in a traditional way without the benefit of artificial nitrogen and then it requires time, there's no way you can speed a maturing process, it is different wood and different barrels over time. Philosophy is a totally foreign concept in UK farming. UK farming tends to be Anglo-Saxon, it is practical; there is a question, there is a logical answer. Philosophy in a farmyard, in the past, would have no place but I think the Slow Food movement understands the philosophy of artisan production"

And those last five words are why Somerset Cider Brandy got its PGI. Huzzah to that too.

Tim, distiller at Somerset Cider Brandy Company

Warm cheese toastie

Eau de vie? (don't mind if I do)

Julian Temperley. Does he look like a man you would argue with?

3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 year old Somerset Cider Brandy

Limited edition Damien Hirst designed label for 20yr old Somerset Cider Brandy

Apple Day (21st October)

I've got apples on my mind (again) which is just as well as its Apple Day this Friday 21st October. Got any plans?
It occurs to me that Apple Day is such a great idea, why didn't we realise it was missing from our lives sooner? Apples are such everyday objects that we take for granted the fact that we can, and jolly well well should, celebrate them. 'A is for apple' has be one of the the earliest things we learn. 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' is a proverb we repeat to remind ourselves to eat well in order to stay healthy. Adam and Eve's moment came after eating a stolen apple... do you see what I mean? When did you last stop and fully contemplate the apple, the relationship and affect it has had on humanity. Our relationship with it goes back for thousands of years, its stronger than ever and we still love them.

Time taken to celebrate everything great about apples is a masterstroke idea and maybe I could go so far as to suggest something we owe nature herself? Aren't simple ideas always the best ones. For 22 years Apple Day has been gathering pace and is now bigger than it ever has been. It was an idea that came from Sue Clifford and Angela King at Common Ground ...  

"The aspiration was to create a calendar custom. We have a way to go yet, but some already think the event is traditional. We should like the day to become the autumn holiday – what better celebration of a new era positively linking culture with nature.

From the start, it was intended to be both a celebration and a demonstration of the variety we are in danger of losing – not simply in apples, but richness and diversity of landscape, place, ecology and culture too. Its success has shown what the apple means to us and how much we need local celebrations in which, year after year, everyone can be involved. In city, town and country, Apple Day events have fostered local pride, celebrated and deepened interest in local distinctiveness."

Recently BBC4 aired a fantastic documentary Apples: British to the Core where they highlighted Britains particular role in the modern evolution of the apple. It really is worth a watch if you missed it, I know many people enjoyed it. I like to think I inspire the people responsible for the photography of programmes like that, I hope I do.

Apple Day is itself an opportunity for celebration through theatre, fun, education, and provenance. Its a PR dream for genus Malus and is a chance to play and reflect simultaneously. Cider has two occasions annually where the producers and partakers get together and make the time to celebrate cider - Apple Day being one of them, albeit slightly less raucous and more wholesome than Wassail (the other occasion.) Maybe the natural appeal of apples in general has a calming influence over mans hand in the creation and celebration of cider?

I am lucky enough to get invited to Burrow Hill annually where they always lay on a great day where everyone is free to have as much fun and drink as much as they like. Last year Alex James (Blur) was sleb in attendance, but in previous years we've had MP's (Graeme Watson), writers (Tom Parker-Bowles) and regional success stories Michael Brown (a la Brown & Forrest) as well as other nationally known foodie and Somerset types. This year we have Mark Hix and a chance to witness the launch coolest label I've seen in ages designed by Damien Hirst for Somerest Cider Brandy Companys fantastic 20 year old (and recently PGI accredited) cider brandy -there are only 500 limited edition labels up for grabs. Crappy phone snap of it here...

Its saying something when one of the reach of one of the worlds most internationally renowned and controversial artists casts his gaze towards Cider and leaves a part of himself here in Somerset. I think I'm right in saying he is from the Westcountry... maybe he too has a softspot for apples?

Next time you eat one (or see a piece of art by Damien Hirst) pause for a thought about apples, their long relationship with humanity, many uses and just how fantastic they are. They deserve a moment to savour and are something teach our younger loved ones about.

Bridge Farm Cider

Bridge Farm is one of those cidermakers you hear about long before you ever find or meet or taste anything to do it with it. That in itself is a step closer to legend status in my opinion and is always a good sign; word of mouth being the best way to find what you want and I tend to take the lack of discovery as a sign that someone there cares more about their product than the advertising and marketing.

Nigel Stewart makes traditional Somerset cider at East Chinnock near Yeovil in Somerset (good soil there for apples.) He’s quite an unassuming man with a fine militaryesque moustache and on the few occasions I've had his ear, he generally has informed and relevant to say about whatever the topic of conversation is at that moment.

Doing justice to something you are passionate about gets easier when you experience it firsthand and recognise the difference between an imposter and the genuine article. Bridge Farm has all the right ingredients for a decent cidermaker and is as genuine as they get: it feels right when you're there. The press rails laid into the floor, the detritus of production, the wooden barrels, the scent of the dark shed, the lush long grass orchards, the mix of fruit... these are all things that inspire you as a photographer and I've learnt to latch on to them as a source of that feeling, you can only try and capture it...

Anyway, he's supposed to have a website but I couldn't get it up (oo er) so am posting the important stuff here should you need it. Go along and say hi and buys lots, its lovely.

Bridge Farm Cider, Bridge Farm, East Chinnock, Nr Yeovil BA22 9EA

Tel: 01935 862387

email: bridgefarmcider@tiscali.co.uk