Ernest Saunders
FOR a long time now, my favourite drink of all has been made of apple juice of one variety or another.
Over the years I have got to enjoy particularly the flavour of the traditional high-juice jus de pomntes or Apfelsafts of the Alpine regions of Europe. Obi and Ramseier are two of the best brands I have Come across, offering consistent quality and the right level of sweetness for my taste. Our English Copella product is also excellent, and the wide variety of cartons and bottles of apple juices available today, even from the milkman, are not bad at all for everyday consumption.
Mostly, I prefer to mix apple juice 50-50 With Perrier or an equivalent, which makes a light, less sweet refresher for even the best social occasions. As an alternative to wine, apple juice packed in wine-type bottles, like Shloer, is very acceptable.
I also like apple drinks of the alcoholic variety, notably English cider, preferably in bottles (more fizz) and the drier Varieties like Strongbow and Dry Blackthorn. The champagne ciders like Pomagne are very under-rated and a nice change from the largely snob-based magic of their French grape based cousins from Epernay and Reims.
I recently tasted a French apple-based soft drink called Brut de Pomme which I think could catch on with the young if the producers get the imagery right. Isn't it time that Coke had a healthy rival?
With my marketing hat on, I would say that whereas the cider makers have done a fine job with branding, insufficient atten- tion has been given to selling brands of apple juice, as opposed to selling apple juice as a commodity. Get the imagery (and the sweetness blend) absolutely right, and there is a huge under-exposed market out there.
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