*This is a sponsored post
October is a busy time of year for cider makers. It’s the time of year when the apples – which the orchards normally start producing around May time – become ripe and ready for the cider makers to begin harvesting the fruit and pressing its juice, ready to turn into cider.
It’s also the month when Apple Day (October 21st) is celebrated – so it’s the perfect time to enjoy a cider or two, right?
Well, not if you’re taking part in Sober October. This fundraising initiative from Macmillan Cancer Support has over 60,000 people taking part this year, and at the time of writing it had raised over £2.3m to help provide support to those living with cancer – an impressive sum!
As well as those taking part in Sober October, there may be some looking to cut down their alcohol consumption for health reasons or after seeing an increase in what they drank during lockdown; and others who are simply looking for interesting non-alcoholic options to enjoy for other reasons.
And thanks to Thatchers Cider and their Thatchers Zero variety, you can celebrate Cider and Perry Month with a cider that’s alcohol-free.
A couple of years ago, I visited Myrtle Farm in Sandford, the local home of Thatchers Cider. Here, you’ll find 500 acres of orchards as well as their production facilities, tasting rooms, gift shop and even their own pub. Apparently even at that time Thatchers Zero was already in development: Thatchers’ alcohol-free cider has been a two-year labour of love, to ensure that the cider makers were happy with its taste, depth and appearance.
And it seems that those two years were well worth it. This year, it’s won Gold in the Taste of the West Awards, as well as being crowned the UK’s Best Low and No Cider in Imbibe Magazine’s No and Low Taste Awards, which were launched to reflect the quality of the growing range of no and low alcohol drinks available in the UK.
While I’m not taking part in Sober October, I have cut down my alcohol consumption hugely in recent years. It’s mainly because I became a mum in January 2018 – and with said child now a boisterous toddler with absolutely no fear, I tend to try and avoid having even one drink around him as I need lightning-fast reactions!
That said, I do enjoy a cider – it’s been my tipple of choice since I moved to Bristol eleven years ago. So when Thatchers asked me for my thoughts on Thatchers Zero, I was more than happy to get involved.
The Thatchers Zero experience
It’s not been that warm over the last week – but in our conservatory with the sun shining through, we’ve been able to pretend it’s still summer. So much so that I enjoyed a summery lunch with the toddler earlier this week: roasted vegetables with lentils and balsamic vinegar, topped with crumbly feta.
And a summery lunch needs a summery drink to go with it, right? An ice-cold cider seemed like the perfect choice – and the alcohol-free nature of the Thatchers Zero meant that I could enjoy the experience without worrying about drinking alcohol around the child.
The label on the bottle describes Thatchers Zero as “a golden, medium dry, alcohol free cider with appley aromas and crisp refreshment…an alcohol free cider with body, smoothness and character”.
It certainly had that cider aroma when I opened the bottle, and light carbonation when poured. Crisp and refreshing was certainly an accurate description, although I’d have described it as more of a medium than a medium-dry. Unlike other alcohol-free ciders I’ve tried, this certainly had more of a genuine cider flavour than an apple-based soft drink taste to it – I’d happily drink it again.
With an RRP of £1.85 per bottle, Thatchers Zero has a lower price point than the cider maker’s alcoholic varieties – and it’s similarly priced to other non-alcoholic ciders on the market. It’s gluten-free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans, and you’ll find it at Sainsbury’s, Asda and Co-Op, as well as specialist retailers like Wise Bartender and Dry Drinker, plus from the Thatchers shop and website.
And I’m also giving you the chance to win 12 bottles, free of charge…
Win a case of Thatchers Zero!
If you like the sound of Thatchers Zero, head over to my Twitter feed where I’m running a competition to win a case! One lucky winner will win 12 bottles of the cider maker’s alcohol-free cider, simply by following me and Thatchers, retweeting the competition tweet, and tagging a friend.
The competition closes at midday on Wednesday, October 14th – click the tweet below to enter. Good luck!
#Competition time! Want to #win a case of #thatcherszero alcohol-free #cider from @thatchers_cider? Follow me and them, RT and tag a friend before 12pm on Oct 14th! Good luck!#ad #soberoctober pic.twitter.com/ebGdiwaAoQ
— Bristol Bites (@BristolBites) October 7, 2020