Trumpet blowing ...

Silver medallist …

We tend not to blow our own trumpet because it’s just not our style. We don’t claim that our cider is extra-ordinary or a brilliant example of this or that style of cider, not because we’re not proud of what we make or the way that we make it, but because we know that taste is such an individual thing that what one person thinks is nectar someone else may consider undrinkable. This seems to be especially true of the world of cider, where a fair few people doubt whether cider is even fit for human consumption (a throwback to a mythical but strangely universal holiday in Cornwall, where a flagon of scrumpy triggered a hangover so bad it lasted forever) and where those who do drink cider often seem to have a strong and unswerving opinion about what constitutes proper cider.

So we choose to fly under the radar. We don’t make extravagant claims for BUSHEL+PECK; it’s proper cider, well made, made with care for the product and consideration for the the planet.

But maybe it’s time to up the volume a bit, at least for this one blog. A month or so ago we received some confirmation that we’re on the right track. Not the finished article - we’ll never stop learning, there will always be improvements to make - but getting there.

Our Rich+Mellow cider was awarded a silver medal at an international cider competition in Spain. That was pleasing, but it was the accompanying comment that really made us smile:

 Good colour, clean nose but not special, balanced. Technically flawless and adjusted to style. 

The silver medal was awarded because our cider scored 42 points out of 50 … and that score also meant that Bushel+Peck came second in the Traditional English Cider category, so a silver medal in Olympian terms as well, beating some well known, voluble and large UK brands.

Handcrafted in Gloucestershire

We don’t and won’t rest on these laurels. We’ve found new sources of apple - Yarlington Mill in particular - which may help us to make the aroma of our 2019 batches of RICH+MELLOW rather more special. We'll also take note of the comments about our two bronze medal winners, as well … and then we’ll return to flying under the radar once again.

Three entrants, three medals. As if to reinforce the wisdom of flying low, we feel our new SLOW+EASY cider is the best we’ve made, yet it was our lowest scoring medallist. It’s a blend, a combination of traditions, a mix of tannic West Country cider and acidic East Anglian / South Coast cider, a reflection of the all the varieties of apple from which it is made. Perhaps it’s a square peg in a round hole, or we entered it into the wrong category, or perhaps the judges just didn’t think it was as good as our other ciders. It’s all a question of taste … so much better to make the cider, rather than shout about it. That’s the end of the trumpet blowing.

And if you’ve read this far, THANK YOU.