Having attended the event as customers for the past few years, The Great Dorset Steam Fair had always been a distant dream for the Fetch The Drinks team. However, this year it became reality, with only two months to go until the event we finally got the call, we were in! The Dorset Steam Fair would have a Dorset Cider Bar for the very first time. Although we hold nothing against the previous and current cider bars at the show and have always been great fans of the Burrow Hill Cider Bus, we and now the organisers could not go another year without the County’s finest produce on offer at the County’s finest Show.
With under eight weeks to go and it being our first event of this magnitude we had little time to waste. Sampling was put to one side and the real work began. Our top priority was to get the back bar perfect, we knew there would be a lot of cider drinkers and connoisseurs in attendance but we were also catering for the mass market with over 200,000 expected throughout the week. We currently work closely with eleven different cider producers in Dorset and we wanted a representation from each one on our bar. After many nights of deliberation the final team sheet was confirmed and was as follows:
Dry – Dorset Sunshine, Old Harry Rocks. Medium Dry – Muddy Scamp, Sherborne Cider, West Milton. Medium – Dorset Tit, Wildcat, Twisted, Copse House. Sweet – Cranborne Chase, Lawrence’s, Joe’s Cider. Fruity – Elderflower, Raspberry. Flavoured – Honey, Chilli. (all available for purchase and delivery to your home at www.fetchthedrinks.com)
We felt this was a range with the potential to cater for any palate with a few personal choices thrown in for good measure. The week of the event finally arrived and we were going in full of confidence and anticipation.
Our location could not have been any better, pitched in front of the dancing groups and main stages, with the steam engines facing the bar and all the food stalls you could ever wish for circling us. There were also a large number of garden benches used for our seating (apparently not enough), consequently an area in which we will definitely look to improve on for next year due to the overwhelming support we had throughout the whole week, while offering a greater size bar to ease queuing.
The week was exhilarating, exciting and exhausting. The changing ambience throughout the days end evenings was fascinating to be apart of, with the lights of the Ferris Wheel and God Save The Queen ringing around the showground a particularly memorable moment to end the festivities on Saturday night. All of our cider proved extremely popular and we would like to thank all of our regulars who supported us so avidly for the whole duration of the show, with a special mention to Jeffrey, she was great.
A further thank you must go to the organisers for putting their backing into our idea and giving us this fantastic opportunity, we hope you enjoyed what we had to offer and preparations for 2016 are already well under way.
If you’re looking for an excellent fun and action packed day out for all the family, you’ll love the Great Dorset Steam Fair, we look forward to seeing you all next year.
