Diageo unveils ‘Rockshore Apple Cider’
This is the brewer’s third venture into the cider market following the launch of Hudson Blue and Cashel’s in the 90s and noughties and which failed to become the apple of the consumer’s eye in terms of sales.
Offering the “light, crisp, refreshing taste that Rockshore lager is known for with a less sweet taste than other cider”, the new release has an ABV of 4% and is being rolled out nationally on draught, bottle and can to pubs, off-licences and supermarkets.
“We’ve been experimenting and trialling cider recipes for several years and we believe that we‘ve landed on something refreshingly different,” said Diageo’s Head of Marketing for Beer & Cider Stuart Kinch, speaking about the new addition to the cider category, “
We undertook research among cider drinkers at The Open Gate Brewery and the reaction was even better than we expected: seven out of 10 people, after tasting Rockshore Cider for the first time, said that it tastes better than any other cider they tasted before.”
Brewer Aisling Ryan added, “What became clear during the development process is that people often find cider overly sweet, so we wanted to create a cider that offers a refreshing taste with a balanced sweetness. Rockshore Apple Cider is made from the juice of freshly-pressed apples. The apples are harvested, milled and pressed to extract the fresh apple juice which is then fermented within five days, producing a crisp, refreshing taste with a distinctive natural green apple character.”
Diageo invited 1,000 publicans from around the country to the launch of Rockshore Apple Cider in the RDS recently.
The launch will be supported by a heavyweight ‘Through The Line’ campaign including TV, Outdoor, Experiential and PR which will go live from April.
