It’s the 276th of January

So book something to look forward to

Greetings, Ciderling!

✂️ Getting trim

Got the January blues? Book onto our pruning course for some outdoorsy “chopping stuff up” therapy. It’s on 7th February, 10am - 2pm. 

Phil (aka Bignose) will cover:

• Why we prune our trees for health and productivity

• How to use different tools and techniques

• Different approaches for spur and tip fruiting varieties

• How to plan your pruning for each tree 

• How to manage sequential pruning over several years

Tea, coffee, cake, lunch, and a cheeky cider tasting are included in your £50 ticket. 

🔥 Wassailing

We had a marvellous time at our annual Wassail (aka “Apple Howling”).We laughed, we danced, we poured cider on tree roots. We managed not to burn anything down. Except the stuff we definitely, definitely meant to burn down. 

We always bang on about the Bignose and Beardy Wassail. So, here’s your beginner’s guide. In case it ever comes up in a cryptic crossword. 

It’s an old ritual to encourage a bountiful harvest of apples in the coming year. Some people hang slices of toast soaked in cider. We mostly stick to drinking it. Less chance of attracting rats that way. An absolute must-do non-negotiable at any Wassail is to splash cider on the roots of the apple trees. 

Superstition has it, this wards off evil spirits and is a way of thanking the fruit tree spirits for all the good apple growing they did for us last year. Like all good traditions, it goes way way WAY back. The Wassail even gets a mention from Shakespeare in several plays.

Basically, we suck up to the spirits so they make the trees give us barrowfuls of apples again. 

The event sells out early and we’ve already sold loads of tickets for next year. If FOMO is a thing for you, book now to avoid disappointment.

If you missed it (or if you didn’t) we’ve also got seven special price Wassail event boxes left over. Get a bargain - they’re £20 and contain five ciders and a small spirit and a load of mulling spices. Normally £27. We’ve put all our email-exclusive Ciderling offers on this special shiny new page. 

Once you’ve got your box, here’s a mini guide to how to Wassail in the comfort of your own orchard (gosh, don’t we sound middle class?)

1. Prep your mulled cider

2. Light a candle (or, if you’re feeling especially rustic, a massive flaming torch)

3. Wassail the trees with a traditional chant:

“Stand fast, root! Bear well, top! God send us a howling crop!
Every twig, apples big! Every bough, apples enow! Hurrah!”

(the hurrah should be as loud as your neighbours will allow)

4. Pour a bit of your cider on the tree roots and say:

“Here’s to thee, old apple tree, that blooms well, bears well.
Hats full, caps full, three bushel bags full,
An’ all under one tree. Hurrah! Hurrah!”

(again, give the hurrah some welly)

That’ll get you started.

The Wassail is such a big part of our cider life (and personal identities) that a Wassail parade photo even shows up when you google “Bignose & Beardy”. 

Oops, we forgot to crop out our 100% 5-star reviews…

🍻 Summertime Gladness

If you couldn’t make it to the Wassail, you can get your tickets to the less fiery, less chilly, more festivally Waking The Cider event we’re hosting this Summer. Get 27th June in your diary and bag your Super Early Bird tickets for just £20 a pop. 

Super Early Bird prices end on January 31st! 

🌭 Sausage n Cider

You don’t have to wait til June to party with us, though. Actually, perhaps “party” isn’t quite the right word for this one. We’re holding a very posh* and sophistimacated Sausage & Cider event on 21st March at Tyler’s Ground. We’ve got music from 21 Whiskeys and tickets are £45 including your dinner. Grab your tickets here. If you rally the troops and buy four tickets, it’s just £40 each with our “Early Bird for 4” option. 

*well, as posh as we get, anyway. 

🍏 Shrub Bundle Offer

A quick reminder we’ve still got a deal on our Shrub alcohol-free aperitivo and apple juice. Blend our Shrub and apple juice with sparkling water and ice for a proper grown-up drink that’s bitter and complicated, just like us. It’s only on offer for January, so get your skates on.  

Cheers!

BN&B