United Kingdom, London; It is perhaps the greatest street-hustle an apple has ever made: a fresh-faced upstart from the New World sneaks into the spiritual home of cider and steals the family gold.

At the International Cider Challenge 2019 proudly African cider brand SXOLLIE [pronounced 'sk-olly', like 'brolly' or 'trolley'] walked away with the gong for 'Supreme Champion' of this prestigious annual competition. The cider that swept the board was the SXOLLIE Cripps Pink Cider, made from Pink Lady apples.

“SXOLLIE Cripps Pink Cider is our latest release in the UK market, and we were intrigued to see how it stacked up against other ciders, both craft and commercial releases,” says Laura Clacey, co-founder of SXOLLIE. “We were quite confident about the flavour profile of our South African ciders, and we're thrilled to have that validated through blind-tasting by this panel of expert judges at one of the world's most prestigious cider competitions.”

More than 400 ciders from around the world were entered in the International Cider Challenge 2019, with leading British brands competing alongside ciders from as far afield as New Zealand, Australia and the United States. 

Only freshly pressed apples – never concentrate or sugars – are used, fermented with champagne yeasts in stainless steel tanks to preserve the bright fruit flavours of sun-kissed South African apples. After settling the juice, careful filtration and delicate carbonation delivers a natural handcrafted cider entirely free from any artificial flavours, colours and additives. It's suitable for gluten-intolerant cider-lovers, and is vegan-friendly.

“In both our production and our commitment to producing single-varietal ciders, we are all about staying true to the fruit,” says Otastszewski who co-founded SXOLLIE with Clacey.  

SXOLLIE is one of the pioneers in introducing single-varietal ciders into the UK market, and today their Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Cripps Pink have grown a cult-like following in bars, pubs, restaurants and retailers across the United Kingdom.

After being selected for the competitive 'Future Brands' portfolio, SXOLLIE is now available in most Sainsbury's stores and online nationwide, a development Clacey dubs “a total game-changer for SXOLLIE.”

The Metropolitan Pub Company, Stable Pizza group, as well as a wide range of independent pubs and restaurants, have signed on with SXOLLIE this year. It is also the only cider served in Heston Blumenthal's three-Michelin-star restaurant, The Fat Duck.

“We hope this level of recognition from the industry will really encourage both the on-trade and retailers to get behind SXOLLIE and help more cider lovers discover African cider,” says Clacey.

For more information, contact Laura Clacey – laura@sxolliecider.com/ 07922384552.

ENDS