Hucknall cider maker named as one of Nottinghamshire's best

Torkard Cider, based on Washdyke Lane in the town, was honoured in the bottled cider category in the 8th East Midlands Real Heritage Cider and Perry Competition, which was held as part of the main festival at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground.

What made their success all the more remarkable is that Torkard only started producing bottled ciders two years ago, to go alongside its already award-winning draught ciders.

The competition featured 30 traditionally-made ciders and perries from 17 makers across Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire were entered into the completion, which involved blind taste-testing by a panel of 18 judges.

Torkard won bronze for its Whyburn cider, with another Nottinghamshire maker, Blue Barrel, taking the gold with its Smokin’ Barrels brand, while silver went to Lost Angel from Kniveton in Derbyshire.

Ray Blockley, who runs Torkard Cider with his wife Gail, said: “We’re really chuffed.

"We started doing the bottles during lockdown back in 2020 and we were only doing a little bit at first.

"But the bottles started selling quite well and so last year we started doing a wider range of various bottled ciders.

"When the Nottingham CAMRA competition came up at the beer festival, we were invited enter a draught cider, as we always do each year, but this year we thought we’d enter the bottled category too.”

Because of Covid, there was no competition last year, meaning Torkard has won a medal in the bottled cider category at its very first attempt.

Ray continued: “To go and win a bronze medal and gets a heads up and be mentioned as we were, we were over the moon, especially given the high standard of competition we were up against because there were some cracking makers in there who we’ve known for many years.

"It feels really good to be an award-winning bottled cider maker and, as with everything, it’s a bar we now want to live up to.

"We’ve won golds in the draught category a couple of times and now we want to win a gold in the bottled ciders as well.

"But the bottom line is we’re delighted and we’re particularly pleased that it was the Whyburn brand that won because we brewed that as much as anything to flag up the ongoing Whyburn Farm campaign.

"We’ve done Misk Hills, which is the dry version and Whyburn, which is the medium version and we threw the medium into the competition and we’re well pleased with the outcome.”

Heather Stretton, Nottingham CAMRA cider officer congratulated the winners and thanked all of the makers for entering such a high standard of drinks into the competition.

She said: “This reflects the quality and diversity of ciders and perries produced in the East Midlands and it is a pleasure to find them available in so many of our local pubs.”