00:00 Hi, I'm Nick Burrows, I'm the owner of Colton Mill and Colton Mill Cider.
00:07 First recorded in 1218, operating then as the Mill of Slingsby, which is in the same
00:12 ownership at the time.
00:14 But it's recorded in detail in a document from 1278 from Byland Abbey.
00:21 Cider's a thing.
00:22 I found a recipe from 16, well, published in 1618, but actually from 1580 from down
00:28 the road.
00:29 I thought it'd be a great idea to make it.
00:31 I made cider originally, but I made some mulled cider and a lady said, "You need to bottle
00:36 that because it's good stuff."
00:38 So that's what I do for Christmas.
00:40 I do a mulled cider in a litre bottle, a whiskey cask, a medium and a dry, and I do the apple
00:47 juice as well.
00:48 I've got an orchard of 64 standard apple trees, covering every known apple variety from Yorkshire,
00:54 and quite a few others as well.
00:55 There's a 17th century orchard.
00:56 It used to be an old tradition when a wife came to a farm that she would bring her apples
01:00 with her and they'd become part of the new life.
01:02 So I planted a corner of mine with American apples because my then wife was American.
01:07 It's called Little America.
01:10 Love it.
01:11 I mean, right now, this has got to be better value than a gym.
01:14 It is hard work, but there's a lot of reward here and you're preserving something that
01:19 isn't just part of the future, but really part of the past and making it valid for today,
01:24 which is great.
01:25 I love it.
01:26 I've got some photographs and paintings that go back at least 200 years.
01:30 One of them is almost exactly held in the York Art Gallery.
01:32 It's almost exactly 200 years ago, and it shows people going about their daily work.
01:37 And just to be part of that, the same people are buried in Hothingham Churchyard.
01:41 You can see it on the church, on the gravestones.
01:44 Just to be a little bit a part of that makes you realize, quite humbling, makes you realize
01:47 that we're all just passing through and these are the permanent things.
01:50 Well, certainly nothing's permanent forever, but it just gives you a part of that history
01:53 and hopefully not just a part of the past, but part of the future as well.
01:58 I've got a book from 1580, this chap William Lawson from Cockswell down the road, and everything
02:03 he says is exactly what you're taught today.
02:06 Make sure you pick the best fruit you can, sterilize your equipment properly, and keep
02:10 it airtight so air won't get in.
02:12 He calls it evil air, and I think most cider makers would agree.
02:15 It definitely is evil air, because that will spoil it.
02:17 That will oxidize the cider and spoil it.
02:19 So on those principles, you get the basics right, and then it's a matter of personal
02:23 choice, how you're going to add a little bit of extra value to it.
02:27 I enjoy the markets, I enjoy the banter, I enjoy meeting my neighbors, I enjoy meeting
02:31 other people, talking about the history of this, and that's what makes it worthwhile
02:36 for me as well.
02:37 And actually, as a really small scale producer, you have to cut out the middle man as much
02:40 as you can.
02:41 There are easy ways of making money, believe me, but this way you can have a little bit
02:48 of enjoyment.
02:49 So go to those markets anyway, there are some great producers, some fascinating people,
02:53 and yeah, it's a good place to sell cider and just share that little piece of history
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