Traditional cider songs and practices
Cider and apples were widely regarded as having health giving properties as this chorus from a Devonshire cider drinking song shows.
And I be a hundred and two
But still that be ‘nuthin when you come to think
Me father and mother be still in the pink
And they were brought up on cider
Of the rare old Tavistock brew
And me Granfer drinks quarts
For he’s one of the sports
That were brought up on cider too
Other traditions are associated with cider, most notably the Yowling, or Wassail as it is known outside of Kent. This custom derives from pagan times. Wassail or Wass Hal means Be Thou of Good Health. The time of the wassail varied from Christmas Eve to Twelfth Night. Participants carried jugs of cider into the orchards, drank good health to the trees and the anticipated next year’s crop, and poured cider around the tree roots. During the wassailing a great deal of noise was created by banging pots and pans. Wheat flour cakes were eaten at these ceremonies and small pieces of the cake were dipped in cider and placed in the forks of the trees as a thanksgiving to the spirit of the tree.
God send thee a yowling crop,
every twig, apples big, every bough, apples enow.
Hats full! caps full!
Half bushel bags full!
And my pockets full too! Huzzah!”
It is a pleasure and a privilege to continue this ancient practice in the long history of Cider making, its rituals and festivals form a natural part of our Cider year.
Throughout the year, we enjoy following numerous traditional orchard practices, including an annual wassail and blossom day, both of which give us time to relax amongst the trees, give thanks for the previous years harvest and ask for a fruitful coming season.
Spiced Cider ABV 5%
Pear Cider 7.5% ABV
