At some point in every year, the sun climbs up into the sky, your alarm goes off early in the morning, ding ding, pling pling, and lo, it is your birthday. You look around, and everything seems ostensibly the same, perhaps a wrinkle or two more on each dog-eared page of your own ever-written autobiography. How to mark the occasion though? A drink with friends perhaps? A bottle you’ve been keeping back for some time, to share, in celebration of the passing of time? But what if it wasn’t just a bottle, but a bottling, that you organised every year, associating with and utilising the talents of some of the best UK cidermaking talent, to showcase this annual tick-tock and its effects on your much-loved and ever-so-much appreciated (please never change) online bottle shop?

I am of course referring to The Cat In The Glass, an institution within the realms of the UK cider and perry scene – democratising access to all manner of cider and perry bottlings, from a raft of producers from all across the realm, with the merest click and add to basket. Bring your digital GBP and exchange for some quality cans and bottles of all that is good with the successive harvests that visit our shores.  I feel like enough time has passed now to say it is, and must been seen as, the spiritual successor to Scrattings – a much-missed online bottle shop we collectively said goodbye to in the midst of the covid pandemic. There have been other losses too, Elston & Son was brilliant but short-lived. More to name no doubt, but this is not an obituary. This is a birthday celebration (just ever-so-slightly belated by a month or two, as often happens). Maybe in a world before supermarkets and a hyper-industrialised, chase the cheapest, most-easily-replicated unit scenario, we had many more such bottle shops in physical positions nestled in cities, towns, and villages? We can only deal with the hand that is dealt us, and our time is undoubtedly 2025. If you’re interested in craft and fine and delicate and peculiar cider and perry, well, The Cat In The Glass is your port in the storm.

Just this week I was speaking to a brilliant, old boy farmer who grew up in Gloucestershire in the 1950s and 1960s. For him and his family, cider was an everyday drink, handed out throughout the working day, whilst perry was to be drunk with a roast on Sunday. I have no doubt that a birthday bottling of perry or a very special cider would have been procured for every birthday celebration in his family too. Whether it was traditional method, celebration bottles in those days, or just a special blend or single variety that worked well on his farm’s terroir… who can tell.  Back to 2025, and we find ourselves in the brilliant, passionate, inspiring world of Nicky Kong, owner of The Cat In The Glass, and advocate for many a producer who we’ve come to know and love over the last few years. It’s a Birthday Collaboration scenario, and there’s only one person to speak to about these bottles you may have tried or are about to try in the next month or so: over to our chat with Nicky herself!

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Cider Review: Hey Nicky, what was the specific jump you took from having your own online bottle shop to releasing your own birthday collaborations with producers you love?

Nicky Kong: I think I was really interested in how it all works, not just selling the bottles, learning about the process as well. As I was already good friends with Albert, Sam, James and Susanna, Will and Anna, it was really quite nice to go down and check out their cideries, do some blending and tastings with them.

CR: By blending and tasting with these different producers, have you noticed differences in their production styles? They’re all uniquely idiosyncratic producers in the UK cider scene in 2025.

NK: Absolutely, it’s been really interesting to try through their different barrels and to understand how they each make their own ciders.

CR: You have such a wonderful, dizzying array of stock on Cat In The Glass, but I’m curious to know what is Nicky Kong’s personal flavour preference for cider? Is this the one time we get to see that represented from each of these producers?

NK: I think that’s a good way of putting it yes!

CR: Can I suggest that based on your birthday collaborations then that you prefer an orchard blend to a single variety?

NK: I guess so, I suppose in this case, they’re all blends aren’t they. I just love the process. Adding a little bit of this and that, seeing how it ends up tasting. It’s just like a chemistry experiment.

CR: You’re not afraid of some active barrel influence in your ciders, compared to just a neutral container. There are some interesting barrels used across these, particularly with Sam’s one, 2024 birthday collaboration, there’s so many different vintages and barrels blended in there. I was surprised to see some of these vintages were even possible in the blend and that there was still stock left from all these previous years.

NK: Funny you say that… I don’t think there’s that much stock overall left of them after our last birthday. I pulled most of them from sale as I wanted to try them at our last birthday party side by side at our Cat In The Glass 4^th birthday. I’ve got a few bottles of each that I’ve held back, but other than The Cat’s Whiskers, there’s not much left now.

CR: When you visit these cidermakers, and propose a birthday collaboration, do you ask for a 50/50 split whereby you sell half the stock and they sell the rest?

NK: With Albert I took a certain number of cases and he sold the rest, as the first one, he probably ended up with more than I took for Cat In The Glass. Smith Hayne and Little Pomona I then ended up taking most of the stock for the bottle shop. With Sam at Nightingale Cider, I’ve currently got around 50%, but I’m looking to take more as we’ve released it in can, keg, and bottle – it’s his first venture into can conditioning, which is very exciting!

CR: Will that stock then typically see you through most of the following year in the run up to your next birthday celebration?

NK: Some lasted longer than others. The Smith Hayne one flew out the quickest. It was keeved, very approachable, less bottles than my other releases, it just sold super quickly. The other two were more complex, more barrel influenced, they took a little more time but sold well.

CR: Is one of your stipulations for the release that it has to have a cat pun involved in the name?

NK: Good question! I am open to having it without a cat pun, but…it’s worked quite well so far.

CR: I feel we’ve still got another 10-20 years’ worth of cat puns that can be mined for the bottlings, it’s totally doable.

NK: If I’m honest, the Ross Cider, Smith Hayne, and Little Pomona names were all suggested to me, cat pun already there. With Nightingale’s, Sam and I bounced ideas around and then settled on The Cat’s Whiskers.

CR: For you first release, with Ross Cider, you named it Bastet – what was that to do with?

NK: It’s a goddess of protection that has a head of cat I believe. That came from Albert.

CR: That’s a deep dive! And for the first bottling too. I should have asked and established, when Cat In The Glass’s birthday is?

NK: It tends to fall on the last Friday in November, that’s where the birthday party is.

CR: Ok so when you’ve just celebrated one birthday, how long do you allow yourself before the planning for next year’s birthday collaboration kicks off?

NK: Not long enough! I generally try to start thinking about it after the birthday party, but for this year’s I don’t have a clue yet what I’m going to do. I would like to release a perry at some point. I’ll have to peck Phil’s head over at 99 Pines, see what he thinks.

CR: 99 Cats in a Pine Forest! That would be great. It’s high time that for the 5^th birthday, a perry should feature. Are you always aiming to pick a different producer every year for the birthday collaboration?

NK: Yes, that’s the aim. Watch this space!

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Ross Cider, Bastet 2020 – review

A 5-apple blend of Dabinett, Michelin, Reinette d’Obry, Sweet Coppin, and Somerset Redstreak.

How I served: A day in the fridge and then 30 minutes to come up to cellar temperature.

Appearance: Brassy gold, freshly polished coal scuttle (that’s my brass item reference in the flat). A lovely rising flow of little CO2 bubbles rising to the top of the liquid, just like I’ve come to love from Ross Ciders that have been in bottle for a few years. A thin mousse sits around the rim of the glass.

On the nose: Blackberry and raspberry leaf initially. There’s an apple brandy note to this as well which gives the impression of something well above its 7.6% abv. Red berry crumble. It’s a very appealing aroma.

In the mouth: Straight away this is a juice bomb on the front of the palate. Soft tannins, raspberry ripple ice cream, the mildest astringency on the side of the mouth. This is more complex than a single variety cider for sure. I get a small hint of the orange marmalade Dabinett note, but if I’m honest, it’s Somerset Redstreak I feel I’m tasting the most of here at this stage of its life in bottle. Right on the back of each sip there’s a lovely vanilla tobacco note too. I’m really enjoying this.

In a nutshell: A delightful, fun, juicy, 5 apple blend that is still powering ahead after 3.5 years in the bottle.

Smith Hayne Cider, The Cat’s Blend – review

A blend of Browns (13%), Yarlington Mill (21%), Stembridge Clusters (5%), Fillbarrel (5%), Dabinett (13%), Porters Perfection (8%), Harry Masters Jersey (19%), Michelin (16%)

How I served: A day in the fridge and then 30 minutes to come up to cellar temperature.

Appearance: Glowing fireside embers, rich marmalade from the jar. The effervescence calms down after 1minute and is creating a little continuous bubble vortex in the middle of the glass as the drink settles down, it looks a bit like the Tom Baker Dr Who title sequence from the 1970s (if you can recall). Thin mousse around the rim of the glass.

On the nose: Scot’s Pine woodland – not what I was expecting here. The sap from the needles and the bark where it’s broken on the trees. It’s slightly malic acid, slightly allspice. Then, a waft of someone preparing toffee apples, the sugar bubbling away in the background. Little bit biscuity on the end note of the aroma.

In the mouth: Wow! There’s no sense of that slight acidity on the nose. It goes (in terms of delivery on the palate) light acidity, soft tannin, and then sweetness everywhere from the keeved nature of a cider presented at 4.5% abv – you just know there’s a bellow load of residual, natural apple sugar abounding in this cider. I can’t pick out any particular variety here as for me, sugar masks a lot of the flavour I look for in single varieties. However, this is a delicious evocation of what this kaleidoscopic variety of cider apples can produce when fermented and keeved together.

In a nutshell: Almost as sweet as it can get, but the acidity and tannin in some of these varieties helps make for a very interesting keeved, blended cider.

Little Pomona, Cool for Cats – review

Barrel matured Dabinett (50%), Yarlington Mill (40%), and Bisquet (10%) from tank

How I served: A day in the fridge, 15 minutes out on the bookshelf to bring up to temperature.

Appearance: Irn Bru and tangerine juice. This one glows in the glass just like Smith Hayne’s. Light effervescence and a super thin rim of mousse. Ever so slightly hazy.

On the nose: Oh that glorious, Little Pomona nose of barrel influenced liquid. I’m picking out more Yarlington Mill here than Dabinett. Sticky orange marmalade, muscovado sugar on its way to becoming toffee, pipe tobacco.

In the mouth: Far juicer than I was expecting, whilst sitting bone dry in its presentation. There’s a tangerine peel meets lime peel element. This is reminding me of that delicious bottling of Little Pomona’s, Thick Cut, which was (if memory serves me right) a single variety Yarlington Mill finished in ex-cognac casks. Is that a what I’m picking up here I wonder? A boozy cognac note? There’s a viscosity to the liquid that coats the inside of the mouth and means any potential astringency is treated more as a lovely oily texture after each sip. At the very end, there’s a tasty, creamy Brazil Nut meets Almond note.

In a nutshell: All the best bits of Little Pomona in a bottle! Barrel influence, meticulously graded fruit, a fun juice bomb of a cider.

Nightingale Cider, The Cat’s Whiskers – review

40% Egremont Russet 2016 vintage, 40% Discovery 2023 vintage, 8% Bramley 2022 Vintage, 8% Bramley 2022 Vintage aged in Priorat barrel for 18 months, 4% Crab apple 2018 vintage.

How I served: A day in the fridge, 15 minutes out on the bookshelf to bring up to temperature.

Appearance: Lemon gold shine, with a healthy level of effervescence that leaves the thinnest mousse possible just before you would exclaim “eh, no mousse there”.

On the nose: A healthy amount here of Egremont Russet and Bramley battling it out. I’m getting some of that earthy, nutty suggestion from our russeted friend, but am conscious of this very assertive green chilli hot sauce note, which I’m near certain is coming from the Bramley. Raspberry leaf, herbaceous, vegetal note once it’s been in the glass a good 10 minutes or so.

In the mouth: It’s Nightingale Cider all over! Dessert and culinary fruit salad in a glass. Far more Egremont Russet than Bramley, perhaps the intense Bramley note really drops off with extended maturation? There’s definitely a tannic note right on the front roof of the mouth, I’m guessing that’s the Priorat barrel influence. Amalfi lemon meets pistachio spread. A lovely mixture of citric acid and umami nuttiness.

In a nutshell: When Bramley met Egremont Russet.

The latest iteration of the Cat In The Glass annual birthday releases continues a fine tradition of collaboration between bottle shop and producer!

Conclusion

Just like Little Pomona’s Old Man & The Bee, or Ross Cider’s Raison d’Etre, the Cat In The Glass birthday collaboration bottlings are something I always look forward to on the annual release schedule. I enjoy discovering the wordplay that comes with each year’s feline punnage, and then finding out what exactly Nicky has settled on with her producer of choice for that year. It’s personalised, idiosyncratic, and always different – something cider and perry on this scale lends itself well to. All four bottlings stand up to rediscovery if it’s been a while since you’ve tried them. Nicky informs me that she’s getting a few cases out of her personal stash to offer up to folk once again, so do look out for them on her social channels.

For personal taste, I still find keeved ciders less nuanced than a fully dry drink. I can see why the appeal is there with a wider audience, as that smattering of residual, natural sugar left in the liquid undoubtedly appeals to the palates of a bigger cross-section of society. Hence why the Smith Hayne release sold out so quickly. When looking for the individual elements of the drink, I found it hard to pick out a Yarlington Mill over a Harry Masters Jersey. It was a completely integrated, keeved orchard blend, which is to be commended. I’m amazed that Sam still had barrels left from the 2016 and 2018 vintage, and what an honour it is for that juice to be showcased in such a dazzling and flavoursome release as The Cat’s Whiskers. Can, keg, and bottle offers the widest range of formats for this to be enjoyed by lots of cider lovers in 2025 (I wonder if a BIB or two will make it to any CAMRA festivals…GBBF, Cambridge, Peterborough please?).  With that final hint from Nicky that she’s looking for a perry for her 5^th Birthday Collaboration, we certainly all have something to look forward to in 9 months time. I hope a suitably top-notch producer is willing to come forward and help fulfil her perry ambitions for 2025. Here’s to The Cat In The Glass, and Nicky Kong!