Helen Troughton (right) from Armagh Cider Company receiving the Authentic NI Experience of the Year Award (Tour, Trail or Immersive) from Tourism NI board member Michelle Shirlow of Food NI (left) at the NI Tourism Awards ceremony at the Archbishop’s Palace in Armagh.
Armagh Cider Company has won the Authentic NI Experience of the Year Award (Tour, Trail or Immersive) for its visitor tours at this year’s Northern Ireland Tourism Awards ceremony.
The award, sponsored by Diageo NI, was presented to Helen Troughton from the family-run business at a special black tie dinner event at the Palace Demesne on Thursday evening (May 30).
This is the first time the annual ceremony has been held in Armagh, with a wide range of local tourism providers attending. The awards ‘recognise and celebrate the industry’s excellence and innovation’ and were hosted by BBC presenter, Jo Scott, with a special Georgian-themed marquee erected in the grounds.
“We’re absolutely delighted to receive this award,” said Helen Troughton, who launched the business with her husband Philip, back in 2006. “It was wonderful just to be shortlisted alongside the other businesses in our category, so winning is the icing on the cake.
“We take great pride in making our tours the very best they can be, giving visitors a true flavour of what we do here at Armagh Cider Company. That’s why we describe our tour as being ‘from blossom to bottle’. We take you on a journey from the very start of the cider-making process, in the orchard, right through to the final stages in the ‘cidery’ and bottling hall. We do everything ourselves on our family farm and are so pleased that people enjoy the touring experience.”
The award-winning Tours of Armagh Cider take place on the family farm at Ballinteggart, based just outside Portadown in Co Armagh, where the Troughton family has been in residence since 1898. Built in 1766, Ballinteggart House is rich with history and many of its stories are woven into the tour to enhance visitors’ overall experience.
Jo Scott praised Armagh Cider Company for the attention to detail in showing visitors the entire cider-making process, from start to finish. She also commended the family business for adding value with its stories, saying the tour was “peppered with tales of Ballinteggart.”
Mark Troughton, director at Armagh Cider Company, said the award was another great achievement for the family-run business, which recently branched out into mixers. The Troughton’s Raising Spirits range was launched successfully at this year’s Balmoral Show.
“We work hard at Armagh Cider Company to create handcrafted products our customers will love and we put the same amount of work into making our tours informative and enjoyable,” he said. “So, it’s great to get this seal of approval of our tours from Tourism Northern Ireland.”
Thatchers Cider has introduced new, lighter weight cans for its cider, meaning the Somerset cidermaker is saving the equivalent of 5.9 million empty cans a year.
The latest in a string of sustainability initiatives being implemented by Thatchers, this change will see around 70 tons of aluminium saved each year, thanks to switching to Ardagh Group’s lighter weight beverage cans. Thatchers Cider expects to save approximately 381 tons CO2 in 2019 by using only the lighter weight can.
Thatchers was the first cidermaker to ditch plastic ring carriers on its four-pack of cans, introducing instead recyclable board outers.
Martin Thatcher, fourth generation cidermaker says, “We’re looking at many different ways of reducing our impact on the environment. As well as running a business, we are all, as individuals, passionate about cutting waste and doing our bit to bring about change. Lightweighting our cans means less energy used across the packaging process.
“We’re producing around 100 million cans a year at Myrtle Farm, so this initiative will make a big impact.
“Investing in sustainability is one of our key priorities. However, it’s equally important to retain quality, ensuring that the durability of the new lighter cans is not affected. So the Ardagh Group worked hard to get the weight exactly right.” continues Martin.
Thatchers produces its family favourites range of ciders in cans – namely Thatchers Gold, Haze and Rosé. Throughout the cider market cans continue to be hugely important, driving market growth with a 52.5% share (Total Cider & Perry volume IRi 52w/e 2nd March 2019). Thatchers flagship cider, Thatchers Gold, is the number 2 canned apple cider in the UK, and is enjoying continued growth in shopper numbers.
Martin continues, “We’re working towards eliminating all plastic from our consumer packaging for cans and bottles. Removing plastic ring carriers is the first of what we hope will be a number of industry-leading initiatives in this area. We’re continuing to invest in sustainability throughout all stages of the cidermaking process, from development of our new energy efficient warehouse and mill at Myrtle Farm, through to ambitious plans to reduce to zero, waste sent to landfill from the cidermaking process.”
Deep in rural Herefordshire, Putley is waiting patiently for the blossom to appear as it prepares for the annual celebration of its orchards, which this year will take place on Sunday 5th and Monday 6th May. Blossomtime in Putley is centred on a cider tasting in the parish hall, based on entries from the Big Apple Cider and Perry Trials with well over 100 ciders and perries expected to be available to taste.
Together with its surrounding parishes, Putley is famous for its orchards. Visitors can walk through the orchards, taste the ciders, enjoy a home-made lunch or tea – and discover for themselves why orchards are such special places and apples matter to us all. Norman Stanier’s great grandfather Harry Taylor could have told you a thing or two about that. He was the overseer on the Putley Court Estate nearly 150 years ago when acres of orchards – or plantations – were established in the parish. On Monday morning, Norman will be telling the ‘overseer’s tale’ and sharing the secret of ‘Thrown Hat’ cider.
Putley will also be welcoming some special guests. On Sunday morning, authors and cidermakers Susanna Forbes, Gabe Cook and Simon Day will be giving their thoughts on whether Herefordshire has more to learn from, or to give to, the New World when it comes to cidermaking. Talks will take place at Dragon Orchard at 11am. There are also visits to The Juice to learn about the secret life of Pixley Berries, and how their pressing machines are being put to use for cidermaking. And just up the road, Helen and Andrew Riga will welcome visitors to Yew Tree Farm to taste their single variety perries under each of the trees which produced the pears. Dancing from Leominster Morris and music from Fiddlers Two add the final touches to a special countryside experience.
Putley Parish Hall will be open for the Grand Cider Tasting and Teas from 2pm–6pm on Sunday 5th May and from 12–5pm on Monday 6th May.
Thatchers Cider is to make its debut at the world’s premier three-day-event, Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.
Taking place between 1st and 5th May 2019 at the Badminton Estate in South Gloucestershire, Thatchers will have exclusive cider pouring rights throughout the event, which is expected to attract upwards of 160,000 people.
The Somerset cidermaker will be serving its Gold and Haze ciders on draught across all bars at Badminton Horse Trials. Visitors will also be able to enjoy Thatchers recently launched sweet cider, Thatchers Rosé.
As part of the new partnership, Thatchers is lending its name to the traditional style pub at Badminton Lakeside Garden, called the Thatchers Tack Room, that will be offering a full range of premium draught beers and Thatchers ciders, spirits as well as soft drinks from Wednesday right the way through till Sunday 6pm.
Thatchers popular Vat 12 Tasting Truck will also be at the event for sampling.
Thatchers, which was founded in 1904, has signed a three-year deal with Badminton Horse Trials.
Martin Thatcher, fourth generation cidermaker at Thatchers says,
“We’re delighted to be making our debut at Badminton in what is a very special year for the event. They are as proud of their history and heritage as we are of ours, and this is therefore a very fitting partnership for us. We look forward to bringing our range of ciders to refresh visitors during the five days of eventing and entertainment. The event is a fantastic spectacle, offering visitors top level sport as well as a great family day out in a stunning location. With its strong heritage and commitment to offering visitors the very best, we’re thrilled to be starting our partnership with them.”
The Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials is a ticketed event, starting off on the Wednesday with an amateur evening competition; with the international Dressage following on Thursday and Friday, and the Cross Country on Saturday. The competition comes to an exciting conclusion on Sunday with the Show Jumping.
Thatchers Cider will be the “Official Cider” of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, to be held from 30 May to 14 July in England and Wales, with 48 matches played across 11 venues in what will be the year’s largest sporting event in the United Kingdom.
As the Official Cider of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, the Somerset cider maker will have exclusive pouring rights for its Thatchers Gold and Thatchers Haze brands in each of the venues for the duration of the matches.
In addition, Thatchers Gold and Thatchers Haze will be available exclusively in the eight official fan zones that are being organised during the six week-long cricket celebrations.
ICC General Manager – Commercial, Campbell Jamieson said: “We welcome Thatchers as a partner for what is one of the most anticipated sports event in the world with the sport’s billion fans following the fortunes of their favourite players and teams. Thatchers is a renowned cider brand and we are delighted to be teaming up with them for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019.”
Martin Thatcher, Managing Director of the family-run Thatchers Cider said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to be a part of a major sports occasion that will have the eyes of the global sports community firmly on it. We know sporting events on this scale don’t come around very often, and we’re delighted to be a part of it.
“Cricket has such a long heritage and tradition, something that as a fourth-generation family company we share and are immensely proud of. So, this partnership with the ICC is a real fit with our brand. We are really excited about bringing our ciders to the World Cup so fans from around the world can add to their enjoyment of some brilliant cricket with a refreshing pint of Thatchers.”
Over 850,000 people are expected to attend the matches which are being played across cricket venues in England and Wales at: Lords Cricket Ground and The Oval in London; Trent Bridge in Nottingham; Cardiff Wales Stadium; The County Ground in Bristol; The Hampshire Bowl in Southampton; The County Ground in Taunton; Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester; Edgbaston in Birmingham; Headingly in Leeds, and The Riverside in Chester-le-Street.
Fan Zones, which are expected to attract upwards of 200,000 fans, will be set up in Nottingham, Southampton, Taunton, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, Durham and London.
Martin adds: “We know the Cricket World Cup will deliver, and we look forward to working with the ICC to gain maximum exposure and activation for our ciders during this hugely anticipated summer of cricket. Cricket has exceptionally passionate fans, and we’re keen to share the experience with them.”
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will be a truly multi-cultural event and taps into the UK’s love of sport – in fact according to YouGov, 83% of adults in the UK follow football, rugby or cricket.
As the Official Cider, there will be Thatchers branding at the bars within all the stadia, as well as a presence on the giant venue screens.
