When you have worked up a real thirst pruning a few hundred apple trees you will want to enjoy your real cider as much as possible.

If you follow the tips below, you will ensure you get the best taste from your selection of ciders.

Cider being poured at the Bath & West 2010

Pouring cider is a useful technique for still or conditioned bottles that have sediment, usually yeast cells at the bottom of a bottle or container.

Pouring cider correctly means you will get the cider and leave the sediment at the bottom of the bottle, assuming that the bottle hasn’t been shaken or inverted in the previous few hours.

Instructions on how to pour cider

The flow of the cider has to break against the rim of the glass. In this way, the air mixes with the carbon dioxide of the cider and the organoleptic characteristics of the cider, such as taste and perfume became significant and are released.

If you are pouring cider from a bottle, you need a glass that can take the whole bottle in one go, holding the bottle at shoulder, eye level.

The glass should be held by the thumb and first finger with the second finger on the bottom of the glass. The ring finger and the little finger should be folded over the palm of the hand.

You should always attempt to prevent frothing of the cider poured, so poured slowly in one smooth movement.

How is cider drunk?

The cider from your glass should be swallowed rapidly, but not as a shot of whisky for example. The cider will loose its spark or organoleptic qualities due to the traditional way of pouring if sipped or swallowed slowly.

Pouring cider Spanish style

The last part of the cider in the glass is emptied onto the floor, a traditional practice in Asturias, Spain.

This is a social tradition as much as it is ancestral.

The traditional pouring technique for sidra is to hold the bottle at head height, and the glass at the waist. The devices shown in this video ensure you get more of your cider in the glass!