Caledonian Cider Co

Cidery in Conon Bridge, Highland, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Established in 2014

Contact
Clover Cottage, Burnside Lane, Conon Bridge, IV7 8EX, Scotland
Description
We’re a small independent cidery founded in 2014 in Conon Bridge on the Black Isle just north of Inverness. This is our exploration of cider at its northern frontier. The aim for our cider is to reflect as far as possible our local Highland terroir.

We use every locally grown apple we can get our hands on whether they’re grown in gardens or orchards, sharp cookers, juicy eaters or bitter wee cider apples, we find a use for them all. Our cider apple orchards are among the most northerly in Europe and provide us the perfect starting point for all our blends.

We only ever ferment freshly pressed juice using wild yeast found naturally on the apples and in the cidery itself. We both ferment and mature in oak barrels at ambient temperature. This ensures a cold, slow fermentation which tracks the natural weather fluctuations as we head through the winter and into spring, it’s not uncommon during the depths of winter for the juice to freeze solid for a few days at a time. With Every vintage bringing it’s own unique character the barrels are blended by taste to produce our individual ciders or are set aside for one of our single cask bottlings.

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8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Panda thanks to Danlo: Poured an unclear golden yellow with a white frothy head. Aroma is very fruity nose, apples, citrus, interesting perfume. Taste is apples, tropical, light acidic near the finish.
Tried on 05 Aug 2024 at 00:35

7.9/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8.5
750ml bottle from Oban Beer Seller. Pale yellow gold colour, no head and aroma of apple, fruits, funk, wood barrel. Taste is tart & tangy, fleshy apple, juicy tropical fruit salad notes, pineapple, peach, citrus, apricot, with alittle funk, wood barrel, some acidity and mellow drying tannin. Medium bodied, low carbonation, dry fruity tart & tannic finish. Nicely drinkable.
Tried from Bottle on 13 Jul 2024 at 17:17

8.1/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8.5
750ml bottle from Aeble, Anstruther. It pours light hazy very pale greenish gold with a quickly dissipating fizzy white head. The aroma is musty, funky, perfumed, apple skin, quite bright and zingy, sherbety, candied lemon, wood, crunchy apple, grape, white wine and gooseberry. The taste is crispy, dry, snappy, tart, puckering, zingy, lemon - lime, vibrant, bright apple, apple skin, apple cider vinegar, tannin, white wine, gooseberry, dry oak, must, deep funk, sherbet and fizzy candy with a drying, woody tannins. Medium body and fine, prickly carbonation. Lovely and vibrant stuff. Tart fruity vibes and deep funk.
Tried from Bottle on 29 Jan 2024 at 17:49

7.5/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8
Bottle online from The Cat in the Glass. Pours virtually clear gold with white foam. Aroma: crisp apple, caramel, toffee, apple skin funk. Taste: towards moderate sweet, follows the aroma, low tannins. Medium body with spritzy carbonation. A lovely drop.
Tried from Bottle on 21 Dec 2023 at 20:39

7/10
Bottle Good Spirits Glasgow 2023-12-12 Uddingston AR: dusty apples, very dry, wee tannins, AP: hazy greenish yellow, no head F: dusty apples, very dry, wee tannins,
Tried from Bottle on 12 Dec 2023 at 21:01

7.2/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 7
30/10/2023. Bottle shared by danlo, cheers Ed! Pours deep red brown with a small bubbly off-white head. Aroma is funky, apple, blackberry, citrus, touch woody, slightly musty. Moderate sweetness and tartness. Average carbonation. Very dry finish.
Tried from Bottle on 29 Oct 2023 at 18:13

7.4/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Panda at home, thanks to Ed Danlo, 17/09/23. Ribena red with a thin crimson cap that veers edgewards. Nose is tangy apple, blackcurrants, straw, hedgerow, light funk. Taste comprises bitter sweet apple, blackcurrant, herb, hedgerow, tannins. Medium bodied, fine carbonation, drying close. Decent for a flavoured cider ... emphasis firmly on the apple.
Tried on 17 Sep 2023 at 13:24

7.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
750ml bottle from Oban Beer Seller. Vintage 2022. Bright deep red colour, short-lived pink foam head that dissipates to a thin rim and aroma of blackcurrant, flowery, earthy, apple. Taste is sweetish, apple, tart, blackcurrant, with wood barrel, oaky hints, drying, and some sourish acidity. Medium bodied, light carbonation, dry acidic finish. Nicely drinkable.
Tried from Bottle on 03 Sep 2023 at 16:41

7.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
750ml bottle from Oban Beer Seller. My #100 Scottish Cider Rating. Hazed pale yellow gold colour, some white bubbles on top that quickly dissipate away and aroma of musty apple, fruity, flowery, funk hint. Taste is tangy, tart, apple, fruity, fleshy, orange citrusy note, acidic with alittle mellow soft tannin. Medium bodied, low carbonation, fruity medium-drying finish. Nicely drinkable
Tried from Bottle on 11 Aug 2023 at 18:31

6/10
Tried on 12 Sep 2022 at 13:34