Cider, but why? The only similarity between this cider and what you get in supermarkets is that both are made from apples. This is an artisanal, food-friendly, low alcohol drink.
Tasting notes
Amber coloured, mellow and complex; distinctive bittersweet flavours complemented by notes of hazelnut, cedarwood, red apple and apricot. Perfect with pan-fried sea bass and, at the other end of the spectrum, 24-month aged cheddar!
Why we recommend this cider
Our knowledge of cider is woeful but we agree with this comment made by Cider Review “For me, the real frustration that comes with the largest cider brands is the complete lack of interest in even attempting something more aspirational.” (Please see here for more) This cider is out of the ordinary! It combines the character and complexities of the best wines with cider’s unique ability to refresh and re-invigorate and is perfect as an aperitif or as a dining companion. Added to this it has a 6.8% ABV, about half that of most wines.
The cider
Showerings is an elegantly dry, gently carbonated and deeply cultured cider blended from three vintages. A youthfully light and fresh 2021 vintage has been blended with 2017 and 2018, and slowly fermented for mature depth and character.
Triple Vintage is not hastily pressed, packaged and shipped but a considered and long-time-coming blend of three vintages. Once pressed, each batch then sits and settles for a minimum of four months, allowing the sharper edges of tannins and acidities to soften to the requisite mellow fruitfulness.
Triple Vintage blend, rather than a single vintage, requires cider making skills of the highest order and the ability to understand how different vintages will balance and elevate, to become greater than the sum of their parts. These are skills that the Showering Family have been perfecting for over 170 years. They even pioneered a special cool fermentation process used in Triple Vintage – a slow-moving maturation that uses both wild and house yeasts to turn the apples’ natural sugars into alcohol to create complex flavours.
Showerings uses aromatic late-season Dabinett apples from a single award-winning orchard in Somerset, the temperate heartland of British cidermaking and just seven miles from Showering’s cider mill. Cherished for their perfect balance of sugars and tannins, these apples are nurtured by an expert horticulturalist and harvested once a year and only at the point of perfect ripeness.
Showerings is best served chilled. Pour from a medium height into a stemmed wine glass and swirl gently
The cider maker
The creation of Showerings is close to viticulture in spirit and execution. It is made with as much love, experience, patience and attention to detail. The Showering family has been making award-winning Somerset cider for over 180 years. From winning Gold at the 1950 Brewers Exhibition to Gold at the 2019 Somerset Cider Championships & The Royal Cornwall Show and first prize at the South West Cider Association, the accolades continue a long tradition of award-winning ciders.
showeringscider.co.uk
Food and cider
Tomato tadka daal; Chicken Tagine, dried apricots & roasted almonds; Squash risotto, sage, hazelnuts & brown butter are just some of the recipes on their website that go with their cider. Refer also to our food and wine pairing guide, click here.
Did you know?
The Showerings are the family of Babycham fame and owners of one of the largest cider plants in the UK in their Brothers Cider Mill in Shepton Mallet. This must make it one of the largest in Europe because the UK is the largest producer of cider in Europe accounting for more than sixty percent of production.