In her sixth feature under ‘Emily Says . . .’, the voice to the Manchester bar scene in Emily Puckering looks at her favourite Summer cider;
Any bartender will be familiar with the famous brands of fruit cider. Fruit cider, whether one likes it or not, is the nation’s favourite summer time drink and certainly will be for a long time. And with summer creeping around the corner, I thought I’d write up a little something about one of the best brands and what wonderful things this company has to offer… and most importantly, how to pronounce it correctly!
Established 65 years ago in Nelson, New Zealand, Old Mout began on a cycling trip in England. Wanda Tait sampled the traditional local ciders and fell in love instantly. Bringing this love back to NZ, she set up her own cidery in a shed and the infamous company was born.
A couple of young pioneers then took over. Justin and Scottie helped give Old Mout the name they are so famous for with their tantalising and unique fruit flavours, rather than sticking to the traditional apple or pear flavours. The pair were inspired by the beautiful island fruits and went on to develop a range of fruit flavours that would later win them awards and, of course, a step up the ladder in the competitive cider industry.
Today in the UK, Old Mout is slowly but surely becoming a household name. With the strong competitors of Kopparberg and Rekorderlig fruit ciders, it was certainly a gradual process getting the word out about this NZ number. And it still is a gradual process on how to pronounce it correctly…
Its spelling causes understandable confusion. Rather than pronounce it as ‘Mout’, as the spelling suggests, it is in fact pronounced as ‘M-oo-oo-t’. Nor is it pronounced as ‘Moat’ either, which I’ve heard a few times over the bar as I’ve struggled to hold back my laughter.
Old Mout features four very unique flavours over here in the UK:
Kiwi & Lime
Strawberry & Pomegranate
Summer Berries
Passionfruit & Apple
Rather than sticking to the generic ‘Strawberry & Lime’ favourite that dominates most fruit ciders here in Britain, Old Mout have put a twist on the classic flavours of traditional cider. Pairing passionfruit with apple delivers bittersweet notes, and the combination of kiwi and lime gives something truly refreshing. Pomegranate has truly made an appearance in the bar over the last year, and it makes a superb flavour for a cider as Old Mout has proved.
So for this summer, make sure you are equipped with sunglasses and a bottle of Old Mout cider when sitting in your favourite beer garden; the sunshine and the exotic fruits of New Zealand have been brought to the UK!
DRINKS ENTHUSIAST 