PERFECT PAIR: HILLS CIDER CO X LYNYRD SKYNARD’S 'SWEET HOME ALABAMA'
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sleeve notes
Lynyrd Skynyrd were Southern Rock sweethearts of the 1970s, embracing urgent rock riffs while spurning the barber’s chair. But their biggest hit, ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, painted them as something they weren’t: folksy good ol’ boys from the Deep South. The band was actually from Jacksonville, Florida and the track was written as a friendly retort to Canadian Neil Young, who’d taken to calling out all southerners as pro-slavery rednecks.
Hills Cider in Nairne is part of the Lot 100 collective, a hillbilly hub of artisan makers and growers surrounded by the lush, green paddocks of Hay Valley. They swear allegiance to the true values of traditional cider-making which means using handpicked fruit from local orchards and casting out the white Satan that is sugar. The upshot is a bottle packed with natural flavour, good ’nuff for hootenannies and hoedowns.
tasting notes
‘Sweet Home Alabama’: Who can resist Gary Rossington’s finger-lickin’ goodness when he starts what he originally called his ‘little riff’? No-one, that’s who. Then vocalist Ronnie van Zant gets those big wheels turnin’ in his cheerful register, and we’re all in a state of southern-fried celebration. The band was known for its three lead guitars and they don’t spare them, though the backing vocals add much to the party (including ‘boo, boo, booing’ notorious redneck governor, George Wallace). Towards the end, Rossington is let loose with a final display of gee-tar mastery before a bit of honky tonk piano brings it – and us – home.
Pear Cider: Crack the bottle top and there’s a burst of crisp green notes and the sharp hiss of good times being let free. The fermentation has been sloooowwwww, resulting in a foamy mouth feel of fine bubbles redolent of a good champers. The perfect pear – unadulterated by concentrates or water – operates as a perfect vehicle for some vanilla and spicy accents, making for a sweet treat that stays interesting and intelligent. Meanwhile, the 5% alcohol ensures there’s ample ‘yeehaw’ to be found at the bottom of the bottle.
in conclusion
Pear Cider and ‘Sweet Home Alabama’? Both could suffer the same criticisms – too populist, too easy, not serious. Not a bit of it. Both have an irresistible pull to them, a bit of moonshine madness that sees the whole room dancing. Don’t fight it. Just wave your hands in the air and proclaim, ‘Lord, I’m comin’ home to you!’
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