| "The
art of distilling has been revived in the orchards of Somerset..." |
| Products |
| Spirits |
| The Somerset distillery matures the brandy in small oak barrels
in one of our two bonded warehouses at the other end of the village
from Burrow Hill. In the bond, the barrels lose the 'angel share'
and absorb all sorts of flavours from the oak. Our colour is natural
and from the wood. Over time the brandies soften and mellow.
Different oaks affect the character in different ways, so a tasting
in the bond is exciting as it is always full of surprises. Sometimes
we bottle a barrel as 'single cask' - see the shop. Alchemy is
slightly lighter than the Ten Year Old as it is matured in a
slightly different barrel mix. |
| We bottle Somerset Royal at three years old, Somerset Five Year
Old, Somerset Ten Year Old and a small amount of Somerset Alchemy at
fifteen years old. |
| We also produce a clear spirit Eau de Vie (water of life): this
is the spirit straight out of the stills. For those who appreciate a
good eau de vie it gets rave reviews. |
| A number of 'specials' are also available. Our neighbour
William Hebditch grows Morello cherries and we add them to eau de
vie; the result is a 23% spirit with a taste of cherries and
almonds, excellent with ice cream. John Leach, from the famous Leach
family of potters, lives nearby and a flask of his filled with ten
year old cider brandy is available. We also have a number of other
different gifts - see shop. |
| Aperitif and Digestif |
| The Kingston Black Apple Aperitif 18% is made by blending the
famed juice from the legendary Kingston Black apple with Somerset
Cider Brandy. It is full of apple flavours and leaves the palate
with an intriguing dry finish - a bit like a white port or a Pineau
de Charentes. |
| The Somerset Pomona 20% is a blend of apples and cider brandy
aged for two years in oak. The result is exotic, smelling of apples
spiked with gentian and almonds. Like a tawny port, it is an
interesting accompaniment to a good cheese or an after dinner drink.
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| Ciders |
| Cider has been sold at Burrow Hill for at least the last 150
years. All the ciders we produce are made from pure juice pressed
from fresh Somerset grown apples in the autumn. (No Chinese
concentrate here). We still sell cider straight from the barrel. We
also produce a slightly sparkling litre flagon and a half litre
sparkling bottle which is a blend of at least 11 varieties. |
| Some cider is made in a similar way to Champagne. We call it
Bottle Fermented, and some claim the method predates Champagne. This
cider is fermented in bottles and matured for up to two years. The
tops of the bottles are then frozen and the yeast disgorged. The
result is a very fine sparkling cider which Jilly Goolden described
on BBC Food and Drink as one of the best ciders in England - "this
has got muscles, this has got brawn. I think that it is gorgeous",
she said. |
| Other Things |
| Three different apple juices: Russett, Cox and Bramley and
mulling spices for 'hot spiced' cider made famous by the
Glastonbury Festival. We also produce a fine cider vinegar. |
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