Golden Knot Apple and Cherry Cider is a local favourite for us. The maker of Golden Knot is Small Acres Cyder, a brewing company based at Borenore in the Central West of NSW. Small Acres makes alcoholic and non-alcoholic apple and pear ciders from fruit locally-sourced from the many orchards around Orange. This Apple and Cherry Cider is a favourite in their alcohol-free range.
I found this cider delightfully sweet, with the cherries adding an interesting complexity. Now this is a deliciously sweet drink which has a fair bit of fruit sugar in it and about 160 calories in each bottle. But I would have drunk many more calories in wine.
In winter any of the non-alcoholic ciders can be made into warm mulled cider – see the recipe below. Use the Small Acres ciders, or the Hillbilly Cider featured earlier. Bilpin Cider also makes non-alcoholic varieties. Cider is sweet so there’s no need to add sugar.
Find Small Acres Cyder website here.
PS So sorry, I do not have a photo of the actual mulled cider, but will take one next time I make this yummy drink.
Spiced Mulled Cider Recipe
Ingredients
1 litre alcohol-free cider
2 cm fresh ginger, sliced finely
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
5 cloves
1 orange, sliced
Method
Place all the ingredients into a large saucepan.
Warm up gently until just simmering, let simmer for 8-10 minutes.
Leave to cool a little then serve in heat-proof glasses or in mugs.
For a rustic look you can use the whole spices as a garnish. Alternatively, you can tie all the spices into a small muslin bag for the simmering. Then you have a less ‘bitty’ drink, which you can garnish with slices of orange.
Check out Seven Quick-To-Make Mocktails here.
For all of the lovely alcohol free drinks recipes on this website, click here.
