Get in the Spirit of Cider

The best way to enjoy apples

Greetings, Ciderling! 

How can you improve on cider perfection?

A tough task, but our local distillery Spirit Of The Downs rose to the challenge. They’ve distilled our cider right down to its (literal) essence to produce our Spirit Of Cider. It’s got an unexpected smoothness compared to our previous batches. 

But how do they do it?

The process starts with our naturally fermented cider being reduced down, down, down, down. It eventually ends up a tenth of its original volume; we hand over 1,000 litres of cider and get back 100 litres of spirit. It’s repeatedly distilled in this marvellous steampunk looking copper contraption until it reaches a nuclear 80% ABV proof. Then, it’s diluted down with distilled water to a much more sensible (but still pretty potent) 40% ABV. 

There are plenty of ways to serve it. Beardy favours it over ice with the merest whiff of ginger ale. Bignose prefers his neat. If you love a G&T, try switching the gin out for the Spirit Of Cider. 

You might already know we’ve been brewing up a new flavour variation, but you’ll have to wait til Autumn for that one. 

🚜 Down on the farm

As a sustainable cidery we’re always on the lookout for ways to reduce, reuse, recycle. Recently Bignose found an old sink on Facebook Marketplace. He didn’t need a sink. But he did need the length of worktop attached to it. Bit of extra surface area for Very Important Cidery Business. 

So, he trundled down the road and picked it up. We’ve actually ended up using the whole lot as a dedicated hand washing area. We even piped in hot water so we can have a soapy sinkful in the barn without having to fill up a kettle. Luxury! Bignose also had some rewiring done so we no longer have to trek to another building to turn the lights on and off in the cidery. It’s almost kitted out well enough for him to kip in if he ever annoys Mrs Bignose. 

🍻 Cidery tour and tasting

First cidery tour of the season coming up! Are you local to Framfield, Sussex? Come along on Saturday 19th April and meet us, have a tour, and taste some cider. You also get a discount on a three bottle gift pack to take home - just add it to your basket when you order your ticket. 

👩🍳 Reader recipes 

We love hearing how people use our products in recipes and cocktails. Let us know your favourite cidery cooking recipes. Or if you’ve got a favourite cocktail that could do with the Spirit Of Cider treatment, let us know so we can experiment. In a month or so we’ll pick a reader recipe winner to receive some Bignose & Beardy goodies! Hit reply to let us know your best reader recipe. 

🎟️ In the draw

You’re in our subscriber prize draw just by being on this newsletter list. Hooray! This month’s prize is a pair of tickets to our tap night in May, with your first round on us. We’ll announce the winner on our social media pages, so do make sure you’re following us. It strokes our egos too. 

Until next time… 

Cheers!
BN&B

📅 Check out our events on our website