Tempted? tickles taste buds with strawberry cider
Cider fans are to be Tempted? by the distinctively rich flavour of a handcrafted Irish strawberry cider.
Tempted?, the Northern Irish artisan cider brand developed by dj's juices and cider, has recently launched a strawberry product as part of a four-strong range which recently went on sale in the Republic of Ireland and is also attracting interest in Great Britain. The range also includes Tempted? Special Reserve crafted from cider apples.
The range is now being distributed throughout the Republic by Coachbury Taverns, the Porterhouse wholesaler in Dublin. Coachbury specialises in imported beers for high-end bars, gastro pubs and independent off-sales. Initial customers in the Republic include the Winefoodbeer Group, which has popular bars in Dublin and Galway.
In addition, the artisan cider producer is lining up deals that will see its products showcased at upcoming events in England and Scotland organised under the auspices of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).
Tempted? Irish Craft ciders have also been supplied to JD Wetherspoon's chain of nine bars in Northern Ireland in 'cider-in-a-bag' format.
The handcrafted ciders and other products, including natural apple juice, have been developed by David and Janet Uprichard, a husband and wife team, who set up their processing plant near Lisburn in County Antrim, in November 2009.
Mrs Uprichard, commenting on the company's first business breakthrough in the Republic, says: "We are really excited by the opportunity presented to develop sales in a sizeable market in which cider is popular. Interest in our new cider products - the special reserve and the strawberry - is extremely encouraging and offers significant scope to expand our business.
"We are also following up enquiries from potential distributors in Britain arising from our participation in CAMRA festivals including the popular Belfast Beer and Cider Festival last year. These leads could result in our ciders going on sale there soon."
The artisan business also produces apple juice under the dj's juice Naturally Pure brand. "We set out to create an uncomplicated and healthy fruit drink, produced locally, that would be just like drinking apples.
At Christmas, they created a Winter Spice by blending apple juice with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and vitamin C. All dj's juices are free from preservatives, added colourings, flavours and sweeteners.
"Making cider is a logical development for us because apples are plentiful particularly in County Armagh, home of Bramley apples which recently gained European protected name state.
The apples are pressed in the small processing plant and the pure juice is left to ferment for over six months. Then the cider is lightly carbonated and pasteurised as it is bottled. In two says the juice is completed, ready to be labelled, boxed and delivered to our customers.
"We add a yeast solution to start the fermentation and sugar syrup made with our own dj's juice with our own pure pressed apple juice to sweeten at the end," she adds. This means that the cider has an apple juice content of over 98 per cent. unlike more commercially produced ciders where the legal requirement is a minimum of 35 per cent apple juice.
The Tempted? brand also includes medium dry and medium sweet ciders. All are processed without concentrates.