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How we come up with our cider names.

How we come up with our cider names.

Inspiration can strike at any moment when it comes to naming ciders…

My usual quandary when it comes to cider is having a great idea for a new blend, but not really knowing what to call it. You may, or may not, have noticed that most of our cider’s names are inspired by either Ballooning or music. If I am feeling particularly sneaky, there will be a double meaning, or something ridiculously obscure that only makes sense to me, but it makes me smile.

Pilot Cider

Some are obvious like Pilot. I had two aims in life. Create the ultimate session cider, showcasing a variety of apples and become a qualified Hot Air Balloon Pilot.  Our pilot batch was what we wanted it to be, it was going to be something sessionable, smooth, easy drinking and exactly what you would want on a warm autumnal evening after a balloon flight. Soon after it’s launch, I gained my pilots license.

An easy one was Purple Haze (it’s hazy and purple) and it’s also an amazing track by Jimi Hendrix. Some are inspired at a gig, like when we blended the sour cherry cider and then went to see Electric Six, “Dance Commander” just seemed like an obvious choice. Even the “Wild Wood” series has its roots in music. As well as it effortlessly describing what the purpose of this experimental project is, wild, barrel-fermented, and aged ciders, it’s also a song of the same name by the Modfather himself, Paul Weller.

Love Letters on a Washing Line was a bit different. This red plum cider blend was made for Valentine’s Day last year and the name went some way to reflect that, but the name has a hidden meaning. When I was young, my grandmother would make red plum jam. It was my favourite thing in the world. This cider was reminiscent of that jam, so what else could I do but name it after a line from The Jam’s “That’s Entertainment”? Had to be done and I still smile when I see that pump clip hanging in my office. Its second iteration was named “Whispers in the Shadows” as a nod to “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight” – another Jam classic.

Quite often the cider name will be drawn from what I am listening to at the time of blending. Two years ago, Sonic Titan was born, an 8.2% dry cider that was destined for the Evening Star in Brighton. It was around the same time that SLEEP released “The Sciences”. Being a massive SLEEP fan, it was on repeat as I blended. Sonic Titan was one of the tracks and upon tasting the leviathan that was this cider, I decided it was a fitting title.

Best Pear Cider

Per was a cider that happened purely by chance. I was offered two tons of Concorde pears that were otherwise headed for landfill. I jumped at the chance to create my version of a pear cider and named it after a childhood hero of mine, Per Lindstrand. Hoping to make something to honour his achievements in the ballooning world. I have been lucky enough to fly in balloons made under his watchful eye and thanked him with a pint or two of his namesake.

Right now, I’m trying to rack my brains thinking of a name for a new cider in the works. This cider will be something different from what I’ve done before, thus deserves a name suited to that.

I’m not too worried though, I’ll chuck on some tunes, wander in the orchards and it’ll come to me.

If you have an idea for a cider name and want to be immortalised in our cider names hall of fame, get in touch and give it your best shot.

Matthew

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