As the weather turns balmy and folk meander to open spaces for some much-needed vitamin D, my mind leaves the warming hum of a smoky whisky behind and craves something cold and dripping with condensation. Every summer, I start drinking cider – and I’m not alone. What is it about the zingy, apple-based drink that sends the saliva glands into overdrive as soon as the sun comes out?
Before I was a food and drink writer, I was a student. I didn’t think about the terroir of grape-growing, the nose of whisky or what wine to pair with raw tilapia. On sunny days, I just thought about the most enjoyable way to quench my thirst. Now, the clank of a metal bottle opener and the hiss of a cold Thatchers Cider opening is enough to bring me back to the Meadows in Edinburgh, for a post-lecture picnic with friends. Stretched out on the grass as the rays warm my skin, the air is filled with the smoky smell of barbecue.
Summer walks have been made all the sweeter with a sip of cider at the end. Arriving at a sweep of beach, blanket at the ready, or settling at the end of a pier as the sun sets. The cool fizz of cider tickling down my throat while the sky streaks violet and hazy pink is an unbeatable feeling. On an emotional level, clinking bottles with a friend at the end of the day is the perfect reward. On a practical level, a couple of bottles of ice-cold Thatchers in your rucksack on the way to the sea cools your back – ideal.
Cider is the taste of a barbecue with my family – the only way we were allowed to see each other in summer 2020. My dad cooked venison burgers for the first time, an attempt to impress me, the “food and drink writer”, making jokes about not wanting a bad review. Despite the burger buns being a bit frozen in the middle, I gave it 10/10. The sun was shining, family was gathered, the cider was flowing and for a brief second it felt like normality again. The epitome of the “better times” we’re all looking forward to. I can’t always suppress the drinks writer in me and did have to note that the iron-y tang of venison burgers goes particularly well with the light sweetness of Thatchers Katy.
On the slopes of the Mendip Hills, Thatchers grows 458 different varieties of apple in perfect conditions – more than 25 varieties of them are used for ciders. The autumnal rain, summer sun and lack of winter frost combine to create juicy, flavour-filled apples. They have a cider for every taste bud: sharp and cloudy, sweet and pink. As a drinks writer, I’ve sampled more ciders than I care to remember. Thatchers Katy is the choice for sunny days and balmy nights.
While Thatchers’ other ciders are made from a combination of different types of apple, Thatchers Katy is made from just one type. Red as a fairytale apple and sweet as strawberries, Katy apples are the pride of the crop and first to be run through the mill. It’s what you want to be drinking to get that real thirst-quenching moment, with only a hint of sweetness that doesn’t overpower. It sits between sweet and dry, with a crisp finish, so it’s incredibly drinkable.
Being an apple-based drink, it goes best with anything pork. But its lightness also carries well with salads and summer food. Think charcuterie boards laden with spicy salami, salty prosciutto, and garlicky mortadella. The slight sweetness to Thatchers Katy cuts through the saltiness of prosciutto beautifully. Hand-held picnic food – scotch eggs, sausage rolls, and pork pies – tends to be savoury-heavy, so goes down a treat with a sweet cider, paired best with a sunset view, of course.
But it also mixes well with fruity dishes – a salad sprinkled with glistening pomegranate seeds and topped with ripe avocado. The delicate fizz works particularly well with the creamy squish of avocado. Meat and salad, barbecues and picnic food; it’s as though Thatchers Katy was designed for summer.
So, it’s no wonder cider is the British summer drink of choice; it pairs naturally with grilled meat and fruity salads, it’s easy to drink, and that hit of sweet apple sings of good times.
For me, cider evokes memories of barbecues with friends and family, sunsets over the sea and picnics in the park, and Thatchers Katy is my cider of choice this summer, for its strawberry sweetness and crisp finish. If you need me, I’ll be sipping a cold cider in the park, or on my way to the shore, two bottles clinking away and cooling my back. To better times.
To discover more about life on Myrtle Farm and Thatchers’ range of Somerset ciders, please visit thatcherscider.co.uk
