You don’t need a TARDIS to experience the two bottles I’ll delve into a bit further on in this article. I enjoyed the analogous experience of crawling into the cellar/cupboard under the stairs/bottom drinks cabinet shelf and shining a spotlight on an old bottle or two of Ross Cider in What’s that bottle, back there, so much, that I thought I’d maintain form and see what else I could find. In truth it’s more the back shelf or final page of a web shop as this time I traversed across the digital miles to the webshop of one of my favourite cidermakers in the UK, Pilton Cider, to see what was still available that by rights should have sold out long ago.

Beatrix, having only recently reviewed the Queen of the Brue in her Hym to the Quince article in April, ruled out that bottle (although I highly recommend buying this bottle if you see it in a bottle shop). Scrolling through Martin’s webshop a few perennial, evergreen classics appeared: Tamoshanta – the Speyside whisky barrel-fermented cider I always try to get around Bonfire Night (November 5^th if you’re outside the UK); Pilton – the bittersweet keeved original that many of  you will know and love; this year’s outing of In Touch – an always delicious cider and grape skin co-ferment, but a new release (so, of course, I bought one on my order) but not fitting this brief of old, deserved-of-attention, bottlings. No fear however, I found my two candidates. One bottling, Ten, which I’ve gone back to again and again over the last 3 years, and another, Road Trip, which I’d only tried once before, but had an inkling would have taken on enough development with its time in the bottle.

For Road Trip then, some words from Pilton’s website:

“Featuring Tremlett’s Bitter & Brown’s Apple; grown in the south somerset parish of Haselbury Plucknett. Fermented with Metschnikowia pulcherrima, partly in burgundy and in rum barrels.

The label was drawn in 1916 by my great-grandfather, as a fantasy journey, looking forward to a brave new world after the first world war.”

I love the label – very poignant to be envisaging something better after a period of absolute turmoil. Alongside the fact it was drawn in 1916 by Martin’s great-grandfather who, I would hazard a guess at, was never thinking it would see the light of day again 100+ years later in the 2020s. I first tried this two-apple blend back in August 2021 (thank you Untappd for reference points here). Since then, my love of Browns apple has grown – I find it to be a top-rate, if biennial, sharp cider apple variety that brings uplifting, clean notes to anything it’s added to, be it a single variety cider or a blend. I’m basing this mostly on ciders I try from Whin Hill, Ross on Wye, and Little Pomona, but curiously, Albert at Ross mentioned to me earlier in the year it must be a terroir thing with this variety as he’s not usually happy with how they grow on his farm. In my most humble of opinions, the Browns cider is tasting great – more Browns please cider producers of the UK!

Onto TEN then, and Martin’s description to set the scene:

“Dry keeved cider, made to celebrate 10 years of cider-making.

Starting with a beautiful clean bittersweet keeved cider from 2019, we blended in smooth low tannin 2018 Jonagold and then carefully added flavour layers from multiple barrel-aged batches. The result is a complex, full-bodied, dry cider. A perfect accompaniment to roast lamb or robust beef stew.”

 Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of Jonagold, I understand its usefulness when blending up the total volume of a cider without adding in too much additional acidity or tannin. And I must say, I have been a fan of TEN since its release back in the lockdowns of 2020. The same fate befell Lochranza Distillery on the Isle of Arran, which was meant to be celebrating its 25^th anniversary back then. A celebration is never quite the same when a global pandemic is running rife! Nevertheless, I’ve gone back to this again and again – it was originally released in 330ml, 750ml, and 1.5cl bottles. I think you might still find  a few of the smaller bottle sizes on The Cat in the Glass, but for the full magnum party, you’ll need to go direct to Martin, and hurry, he only has (at the time of writing) 6 bottles left I believe. Hopefully the good readers of Cider Review can help his last remaining magnums find their forever homes!

Pilton Cider Road Trip 2020  – review

How I Served: 2 hours in the fridge, not too long, conscious of the tannin heavy Tremlett’s Bitter constituent and still presentation.

Appearance: Light copper, brilliant clarity, absolutely still presentation, radiant.

On The Nose: Crushed blackberry, black tea leaves, freshly pressed apple juice. From the Tremlett’s Bitter, after it’s sat a while in the glass, I’m getting this distinct aroma of a coarsely-knitted, woollen fabric – that smell when you sniff a tweedy, tartan, bunnet. It’s fresh, along with a slightly abrasive aroma. Beguiling.

In The Mouth: Wowsa! It’s an initially hit of allspice meets vanilla, a slightly creamy first approach to the palate, followed by a waft of tannin all over the mouth. Astringency on the side of mouth. The Browns apples in this blend are keeping things juicy and fresh on the sub-bass of the flavour profile. The bold tannins from the Tremlett’s Bitter have mellowed substantially. It’s a big, bolshy mouthfeel, but not overbearing in the slightest. Rum cask and Browns apple is a match made in heaven.

In A Nutshell: This bottle is drinking particularly well in 2024. I last tried it 3 years ago, and it’s even better than then. Seek it out for a great expression of a duo-blend, still cider from Pilton!

Pilton Cider TEN – review

How I Served: An afternoon in the fridge, was hoping to catch the evening sun on the balcony but hey, this is Norfolk in the UK in 2024 and it’s just overcast or physically raining every single day this year (arghhhhh!!).

Appearance: Bright, polished copper. Clarity is excellent, with light bubbles rising to the whisker-thin mantel.

On The Nose: A bittersweet nose with a mellow, wistful aroma. Enchanting! As the liquid warms slightly, borage soup, with a wildflower meadow nose. The merest hint of old whisky barrels too.

In The Mouth: A prickle of effervescence at first on the roof of the mouth, followed by a definite orchard blend approach – there’s Bittersharp and Bittersweet apples at play here with tannin and acid aplenty. Astringent after-effect leaves the mouth with a drying effect, wanting to take another sip.

In A Nutshell: Well, it’s not all aboard the good ship Sweet Keeved with this Pilton release. Set sail for dryer keeved shores, atypical for Pilton, but delicious, nonetheless. Evidently a popular cider back in its lockdown-era release. Seek out one of the few remaining bottles if you can and raise a glass to (now) 14 years of Pilton Cider!

Conclusions

Another worthy spotlight on some older bottlings that are deserving of continued appreciation in 2024. I think Road Trip is benefitting even further from time in the bottle. If you were thinking of having a still cider get-together with friends, as well as some BIB offerings, along with Find & Foster’s excellent Root, this bottle from Pilton is an absolute must for the table. Trying this again, and once or twice a year enjoying Ross Cider’s rum cask Dabinett from RossFest22, makes me realise I need to acquire a used rum cask for my own cider making – I love the tropical notes it helps impart on the finished liquid. There’s more than enough of this one to go around, so pop a bottle in your basket next time you’re putting together a medley of bottles to enjoy at home.

Onto the slightly rarer beasty, the TEN, celebrating a decade of cider production for Pilton, and now nearly all sold out. Cider in magnums has the chance to age slightly differently to smaller bottle formats – more liquid with a proportionally smaller headspace inside the bottle, it will just move in slightly different directions and at different speeds to its compatriots in smaller format packaging. With hindsight I should have really found a 330ml bottle of TEN somewhere and tried it alongside the sips from the magnum. It’s a big, beautiful bottle format that will undoubtedly make an impact if you bring it to the table at a meal this summer. I’m not the biggest fan of lamb, so I can’t corroborate Martin’s pairing notes above, but I can see this absolutely working with a beef or venison stew. At the end of it all, you’ll be left with a gorgeous bottle to plonk a candle in or reuse yourself for something else. What’s not to like?