Lagg Distillery on The Isle of Arran has harvested the first apples from their orchard as they officially launch their ‘Lagg Distillery Orchard Cider’ made in collaboration with Ayrshire Riviera Cider.
The team at Lagg Distillery hope that the limited-edition bottling will become a brand-new tradition with plans to make more in the pipeline, but say that it could take some time as they wait for their new apple harvest. The team also have ambitions to create their own cider brandy from the Lagg Orchard apples.
Lagg Distillery Manager, Graham Omand said, “We’re thrilled to see the first bottles of Lagg Distillery Orchard Cider on our shelves. This is the first step in what will hopefully be a long journey of working with our apples – cider is the plan for the foreseeable, but we have long-term ambitions to create our own Scottish apple brandy right here on the Isle of Arran.”
Allan Thomas of Ayrshire Riviera Cider said, “We feel privileged to have been allowed to use our cider-making experience to produce a fabulous still cider in collaboration with our friends at Lagg Distillery. We hope the residents of, and visitors to, Arran enjoy the cider. It’s fitting that an island once known as Apple Island has a cider worthy of that name.”
Graham Omand, Distillery Manager described their new cider as, “incredibly light and sweet on the nose, like sweet apple juice, and goes down incredibly smooth. On the tongue there’s the hint of sharp stringency and dryness that you’d expect from the Michelin apples, but it’s beautifully balanced out by the sweetness of the eating apples. It’s truly a perfect cider for a hot summers’ day.”