Awards and Reviews
It's not just us who think the cider and perry are fantastic ...
Public Accolades
for
Broughton Bank Perry & Cider
IWSC Bronze Award 2024
IWSC (International Wines and Spirits Competitions)
Broughton Bank Perry & Cider
Medium Perry 2022
From: England
Tasted by: Lionel Periner, Shannon Tebay, Salvatore Castano, Massimo Serpelloni
Tasting notes:
Award: Alternative Drinks Bronze 2024
Tasting Note: "Fruit blossom and pear nose with a balanced, floral characters, pleasant acidity, with white flowers".
Category: Perry, 100% Pear
ABV 5.5%
Ageing length: 18 months
Unoaked, Non-certified Organic, Vegan, sustainable production methods
IWSC Gold Award 2023
IWSC (International Wines and Spirits Competitions)
Broughton Bank Perry & Cider
Medium 1oz Cider 2020
From: England
Tasted by: Freddy Bulmer, Vincenzo Arnese, Adam Well, Alistair Morrell
Award: Alternative Drinks Bronze 2022
Tasting Note: "A focused cider with intense tropical fruit notes running throughout. The nose is ripe and appealing with a clean cantaloupe melon note, leading to a rich,
complex palate. Layers of fruit are complimented by hints of tea leaf and camomile, ending on a lip-smacking finish."
Category: Still Cider, 100% Apple
ABV 5%
Ageing length: 32 months
Unoaked, Non-certified Organic, Vegan, sustainable production methods
From the Westmorland Gazette 2 August 2023, by Daniel Pye
AN ORGANIC cider producer has won a gold award from the International Wine and Spirit Competition.
John Hibbert only started Broughton Bank Perry and Cider four years ago but is already enjoying the fruits of his labour. He started an organic perry and cider business near Cartmel after planting vintage varieties of apples and pears for over 15 years with the aim of reinvigorating the Lake District cider tradition.
While ciders are known for coming from Somerset and Herefordshire, northern England and Scotland have their own traditions of cider houses as they are using one of the most abundant fruits in the country.
All apples are picked by hand. The perry and cider are made from pure fresh juice from local fruit with natural fermentation without any additives such as sulphites, making it gluten-free and vegan.
John supplies Low Sizergh Barn near Kendal, Yew Tree Barn in Newton in Cartmel, local pubs and community events. People can purchase his drinks directly from his cider house at Broughton Bank.
He said: "I am proud. I think it's a triumph of no additives really. The only thing that is added is sugar after fermentation. It's a real confirmation that natural is best. I find it a very fulfilling occupation, it takes up a lot of time. A lot of houses have quite large orchards - lots of apples go to waste. So what I do is I go and pick them or people bring them to me and I give them a commission for using their apples, so it's also saving waste."
Sometimes John's son helps him but he mostly works on his own. He said: "Last year there was the most amazing harvest. I picked 11 or 12 cubic metres of apples. I was exhausted at the end of it."
He said this year the harvest will be smaller due to the weather being dry in spring and early summer, then wet more recently.
When asked what he thinks the future will be he said that now he had the gold for his cider he will focus more on the perry side of the business.
Perries are mostly known for Babycham but John wants to showcase what else the drink can offer.
IWSC Bronze Award 2022
IWSC (International Wines and Spirits Competitions)
Broughton Bank Perry & Cider
Broughton Bank Cider 2020
From: England
Tasted by: Ivan Dixon, Christine Parkinson, Timothy Falzon, Alistair Morrell
Award: Alternative Drinks Bronze 2022
Tasting Note: "Generous and fruity, bursting with ripe pear and bruised apple, alongside fresh melon and kiwi. "
Category: Still Cider, 100% Apple
ABV 5.1%
Ageing length: 19 months
From the Westmorland Gazette 14 July 2022, by Darren Shield
A CRAFTER of Cumbrian cider has won a prestigious gong for his traditionally-made drinks.
John Hibbert, of Broughton Bank Perry and Cider in Cartmel, has won a Bronze medal in the International Wine and Spirits Challenge.
John, a former restaurateur in Oxford, planted his first vintage cider apple trees back in 2007 and began to sell his wares three years ago.
"I started out thinking I'd make it for myself and my friends - production is completely dependent on the weather in any given year," he said.
"My ciders are fermented through natural yeast with no sulphites. I try to add nothing to the finished product and every batch I make is different."
"Cumbria has a long history of cider - every farm would have a dedicated apple tree, and at hay time the workers would all drink the cider made from it."
"Perry is such a fascinating product - people generally only know it as Babycham now but perry was drunk as a substitute for wine when Britain couldn't get French wine in the Napoleonic wars."
"The local South Lakes Orchard Group (SLOG) sent samples of one local pear I pick away for DNA analysis - it turned out not to be in the national database so we had the opportunity to name it The Middle Birkby Pear [after the farm where it was found]."
Ulverston Beer Festival Best Cider in Festival
From the Northwest Evening Mail 7 September 2022 by Ambrose Young
A BOOZY event has been hailed a 'success' after thousands of pints were pulled over the duration of the event.
Ulverston's three-day beer festival was held in The Coro Hall from Thursday to Saturday.
And organisers have hailed it a success after more than 4,000 pints were handed over to more than 1,500 people.
[...]
"We always get customers to vote for their favourite beer and cider of the festival and this represents a fantastic result for our area as all three winners are local, despite having drinks from as far away as Kent and Orkney."
The results of the winning drinks are:
Cask Ale: Roa Island Boat Club (Roa Island) - Daylight Robbery
Craft Ale: Utown (Ulverston) - Peaches and Cream
Cider: Broughton Bank (Cartmel) - Medium Sweet
