Apples, Cider & Orchards
OUR APPLES
“Pass Vale Farm at Burrow Hill near Martock in Somerset, we decided, is the Domaine de la Romanée Conti of cider.”
- Financial Times
Apples are the starting point for both our cider and apple brandy, we believe it is vital to know their origins. All the apples we ferment come from Somerset, the majority from our own orchards. We grow more than 100 varieties of vintage cider apples such as Brown Snout, Stoke Red, Harry Masters and the legendary Kingston Black. We also grow 20 varieties of perry pear. The art of blending different types of fruit is key to the craft of cider making and distilling.
It has long been recognised that England has three 'vintage' cider apple areas where the soil and climate creates apples of a superior quality. The terroir of the orchards around the farm is recognised as one of these three unrivalled vintage areas. The other two areas, Wedmore and Baltonsborough are also in Somerset – the heart of the England's artisan cider world.
Watch the film below for a tour of the orchards with Julian and Matilda Temperley
OUR CIDER
Draught / Sparkling / Perry / Bottle Fermented
Burrow Hill draught cider is poured directly from the barrel and is flat and traditional.
Burrow Hill Sparkling Cider is a lightly carbonated cider that is a blend of at least eleven varieties of vintage apples. It is moreish, complex and balanced.
Burrow Hill Cider Bus is slightly sweeter, a bit lighter, crisp and refreshing
Burrow Hill Perry is made entirely from our perry pears and is dry and delicate.
This cider undergoes a secondary fermentation within the bottle in order to gain tiny bubbles. It is then matured for a minimum of three years in our cellars before the yeast is removed and it is ready to drink.
ICE CIDER
Our Ice Cider is a very unusual cider. Juice from a secret blend of apples is frozen, then the ice is removed. The remaining, concentrated, juice is then fermented in small oak barrels. This gives the resulting 11.5% abv cider an intense and unique flavour that combines the bitter-sweet and bitter-sharp qualities found in traditional vintage apples.
"'A genuinely innovative drink, a real find.' 'looks like Palo Cortado sherry, smells like Calvados, tastes like a cider pudding', 'brilliant tannins, layers of flavour with soft apple embrace'. 'Ice Cider is great on its own but should be on the shelf of every cocktail bar in London as a serious contribution to mixology'"
- The Financial Times
“The man behind Burrow Hill Cider also pioneered Somerset Cider Brandy. Over the past three decades Julian Temperley has done more than anyone else in Britain to develop classy drinks from homegrown apple juice.”
- The Financial Times
"Cider has been made in England since ancient times, the skills to make it brought here with the Norman invasion. The terroir, the ecology and climate around Kingsbury Episcopi and Burrow Hill lends themselves so naturally to fermenting apples"
- Rose Prince