Читать книгу We’re British, Innit: An Irreverent A to Z of All Things British - Iain Aitch - Страница 41

With Britain’s wealth of orchards it is no surprise that we soon worked out how to turn apples into a passable alcoholic drink, which has kept tramps, teenagers and farmers topped up since time immemorial. Premium ciders enjoy massive sales, but the real stuff comes from the West Country, where everyone talks, drinks and sings like The Wurzels. Popular brands have fantastic names like Cripple Cock, with a slippery slope of rough cider and scrumpy available to explore in rural boozers. One of the best things about cider is that many Americans use the same name for what is simply apple juice. So when a coach party stumble across a cider outlet in Bristol they are always tempted to try the local beverage, not realising that they are imbibing an 8 per cent brew that will have them under the table. This is the best time to tell them about the ‘tradition’ of visitors buying a round for the whole pub.