Co. Armagh boasts 5,000 acres of verdant apple orchards, more than any other part of Ireland.
Little wonder it became known as “The Orchard County”. It is here that Mac Ivors Cider has its roots.
Our farm was established in 1855 in the townland of Ardress. Our cider takes its name from our Cider Maker, Greg Mac Neice’s grandmother Annie Mac Ivor.
Annie, her husband Matt Mac Neice and their nine children had a passion for apple growing. Her son Sam and her grandson Greg continue that tradition, farming over 100 acres of prime Armagh orchard, packing and processing the apples grown and now making great craft cider too!
Making Cider with Heart and Soul
Here at Mac Ivors, we love apples. Cider making is all about the apples and maintaining their delicate flavour and aroma through the fermentation process. It is about taking different apple varieties and producing a balanced blend that is so much more than the sum of its parts.
Together with our growers, we choose not only what varieties we pick for Mac Ivors Cider, but crucially when they are picked for optimum ripeness and how they are handled at harvest time.
Culinary apples like Armagh’s famous Bramley apple give a lovely tartness to cider.
Cider apples such as Michelin, Dabinett and Harry Master’s Jersey are called bittersweets. They are highly astringent but impart a rich depth in a cider, as well as tannins for a long finish.
Dessert Apples, both heritage varieties like Worcester Pearmain, Laxton Fortune, Lord Lambourne and more modern varieties such as Elstar, Golden Delicious and Jonagored give the cider a light, fresh finish with their sweet, fruity flavours.
To the freshly pressed juice from these ripe apples we add a unique cold-fermenting yeast. Our yeast strain has been isolated from apples and has been chosen to preserve natural fruit aroma and to produce cider that tastes of real apples.
Our base ciders are matured for at least six months and then blended to achieve the perfect balance. Our Medium Cider has prominent crisp fruit but gentle sweetness reflecting the majority dessert apples in the blend. Our Traditional Dry Cider has deep, complex apple flavours with a long, dry finish reflecting the Bramley and cider apples.
