Strongbow Cider
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Strongbow is a brand of cider originating in England, but now available all around the world. It is manufactured by the brewing company Scottish & Newcastle, who bought its original owners, Bulmers, in 2003. It is the UK's most popular cider, accounting for more than half of the draught cider sold in British pubs. The advertising slogan is 'A taste that hits a little deeper'.
The "thudding arrows" have been a feature of the brand's television advertising since the 1960s. This involves several crossbow bolts thudding into a bar counter near a glass of Strongbow, or its bar pump, towards the end of the advertisement. Commercials around 1998 featured Johnny Vaughan, telling us to "loaf it". The idea was to make the product appear "cooler" than its image of only being drunk by young people and old men. Even today, Strongbow is currently heavily promoted to the UK's student population.
The alcoholic strength of Strongbow Cider in the UK is 5.3% ABV (10.6 proof) in cans and bottles, but 4.5% ABV (9 proof) draught in pubs. It is a slightly dry cider, unlike its sugary brother, Woodpecker, and is also known by the name 1080 Dry Cider.
In the UK, Strongbow is available in three different forms. Original, Extra Cold (draught only, chilled to a few degrees lower than normal draught Strongbow) and the newer Strongbow Sirrus (5% ABV), which was formulated to give a smoother taste and to be served over ice. Strongbow Sirrus is only available in bottles, whereas the normal variety is available in cans, bottles and on tap.
In the USA, Canada, and Australia, Strongbow is also available but is brewed to a strength of 5.3%. Strongbow is available in three varieties in Australia: Dry, Sweet and Original. In the USA and Canada, only Strongbow Original is commonly available. These other varieties were trialled in the UK in the early 90's, with the Strongbow Sweet being sold as Strongbow Red, but were withdrawn a year later due to lack of interest.
Strongbow is named after the Anglo-Norman knight Richard de Clare, later Earl of Pembroke, called "Strongbow" because during his wars in Ireland he relied heavily on Welsh archers, while the native Irish had few bows and relied on javelins.
Chain-pub Wetherspoons promotes Strongbow throughout its 650 pubs especially during its Curry Club night.
[edit] Brand extensions
In addition to Strongbow Sirrus, Scottish & Newcastle have extended the Strongbow range with Strongbow Jacques, a 5.5% ABV cider with cherry, raspberry and blackcurrant flavours made in Belgium by Stassen SA.
During the spring on 2006, the company also relaunched Bulmers Original in the UK, a premium packaged cider aimed squarely at the "served over ice" market which has grown in popularity over the last few years. Bulmers Original is a 4.5% ABV cider and is sold in 1 pint (568ml) bottles.[1]
