Ross-on-Wye Cider and Perry Company's Tom Putt cider review

The Hereford Business Improvement District (BID) very kindly gifted me and a colleague a goody bag for the launch of the inaugural Hereford Medieval History Festival, and I was impressed to see not one, but two bottles of cider.

Although the inflatable sword, generous £15 gift card and reading material all went down a treat, I felt my next review was set when I discovered two bottles of locally-produced cider.

One of these was Tom Putt cider from the Ross-on-Wye Cider and Perry Company, based in Peterstow, which oversees the award-winning Yew Tree Inn, which has regularly appeared on lists of the best pubs in the UK.

The cider definitely packs a punch and was a unique taste for me, having never tried a drink made from the apples, which are not commonly found in Herefordshire's cider orchards, but you're far more likely to come across them in the South West of England.

The most notable elements of the drink are definitely its tangy and warm taste, but also the final note of summer fruits which comes through after you drink it, especially a lingering rhubarb and raspberry taste.

Delivering a flavour of burnt apple tart, the cider can almost certainly work well as a warming winter drink, but it also wouldn't go amiss as a refreshing drink on a warm summer's day in a pub garden.

The cider is one of the many creations from the Johnson family, who are behind the firm and have been pressing apples and pears at Broome Farm for nearly a hundred years.

They describe cider making as not just a business, but more a "way of life", and retain a strong belief that natural products will always be superior to more processed commercial drinks.

I'd certainly be keen to try more from the company, and luckily for me, the bag also included a bottle of their dry cider, labelled 'Does Hereford Need a Cider House?'.