International Cider Challenge 2016
Leading cider producers from across the globe are celebrating after impressing an elite panel of judges and scooping prestigious medals at the International Cider Challenge 2016.
The competition, run by Off Licence News magazine, is now in its seventh year and judges praised the consistent quality of the 180 entries this time around.
The panel of judges consisted of supermarket buyers, award-winning independent retailers, cider experts, journalists and cidermakers, and they teased out the best ciders the world has to offer.
Many came from the more traditional cider nations such as the UK, Ireland and France, but entries also arrived from as far afield as Australia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Japan, Spain, South Africa, New Zealand and the USA, reflecting the truly international reach cider now enjoys.
Each was blind-tasted by the nine-strong panel, which awarded 19 gold medals, 44 silvers and 65 bronzes. From among the golds, eight trophies were awarded for the best cider within each category. UK producer Waitrose took home two, for Waitrose Low Alcohol England and Waitrose Westons English Vintage Perry, Herefordshire.
Trophy success went out to Northern Irish producer Kilmegan Cider for Kilmegan ‘Real’ cider. While French producer Cidre Le Brun’s Reflet de France Brut also triumphed, along with English producer Healeys Cider’s Cornish Brandy Reserve, which won the trophy for Best Wood-Aged Cider. Cider Brothers completed the list of trophy winners with William Tell Hard Apple Cider with Strawberry.
Marks & Spencer also enjoyed trophy success for Marks & Spencer Breton Cider and were awarded the title of Highly Commended.
The Supreme Champion for 2016 was Domaine Labranche’s Ice Cider Labranche.
There were also awards for Best Packaging, with judges handing out three golds, six silver medals and nine bronzes. The supreme champion for Design & Packaging was Interbrus Sxollie. Judges awarded Highly Commended to Thatchers for their Thatchers Gold.
Chairman of the judges Pete Brown said: “It was great to see such a big and varied range of ciders again this year and get a cross-section of different styles from around the world. The fact that our nod for the overall winner came down to a choice between a 12% ABV ice cider from Canada and a 1% ABV cider from Herefordshire with great finalists all the way between shows just how diverse and creative cider is becoming.”
Samantha Halliday, commercial director at competition organiser Off Licence News, said: “The International Cider Challenge has become recognised as one of the world’s most respected competitions. It is by far the world’s most hotly contested cider competition and winning any medal is a fantastic achievement.
“The broad range of ciders entered this year demonstrated the skill and innovation within this vibrant category. As such, the standards in both the taste and design and packaging sides of the competition were extremely high – and the real winner is the cider consumer, who has never had such a wonderful array of exceptional drinks to choose from.”
