Nightingale Cider Company releases Hoppy Cox

A dry-hopped cider celebrating local Kentish terroir

Nightingale Cider Company is a family-run business based in Tenterden, Kent. The

Nightingale family has been fruit farming in the area since 1948. They’ve been making small-batch craft cider since 2009, keeping the process as natural as possible at every stage—their ciders and perries are made from 100% fruit juice and all are gluten-free and vegan.

Nightingale Cider’s delicious range of ciders and juices are handmade, using fruit from their farm and nearby Kentish orchards. Driven by their passion for the highest quality ciders, they bridge tradition with innovation to produce a range of flavoursome and exciting offerings for today’s drinker.

This Thursday, Nightingale Cider is releasing its first dry-hopped cider, Hoppy Cox , which is a lightly sparkling off-dry cider made from Cox and Jonagold apples with an ABV of 5.5%. It’s dry hopped with Ernest hops, which are grown at Hukins Hops, located only three miles away from the Nightingale orchards. This delicious cider celebrates local Kentish terroir.

Dry hopping is a process often used in the beer industry, where hops are added to beer after fermentation has begun. This imparts fresh hop aromas to the beer without adding any bitterness and can also provide a unique taste character. The same process can be applied to cider.

Ernest hops are a UK hop known for giving fruity notes of apricot, citrus, spice.

Sam Nightingale, Nightingale Cider founder and cider maker, explains:

“Hoppy Cox is all about the delicate balance of bringing two very local Kentish and Tenterden grown flavour together. Over the course of two years of conversations with Hukins Hops, and experimenting with dry hopping our ciders with different hops that they grow, and trying lots of different hopped ciders from around the world, we were lucky enough to get our hands on some Ernest hops, grown and kiln dried just three miles away. The moment the guys at Hukins Hops told me about Ernest, I felt that it could have all the right characteristics we were looking for, the new world profile- fruity, fresh with citrus and spice that could work with the wine like acid-driven ciders we make.

We’re really blown away by how it has turned out and it’s a delicious addition to the Nightingale line-up that we know people will love drinking!”

Last month, Night Bird cider, their sophisticated yet easy-drinking namesake, was awarded a star at the Great Taste Awards 2020.

Both ciders will be available online to purchase here.