Tap Handle #680: Cidrerie Loïc Raison - Celt Thirsty Warrior Cider

January 30, 2018

Tap Handle #680: Cidrerie Loïc Raison - Celt Thirsty Warrior Cider

Tap size: 10"
Rarity: import
Mounting: internal 3/8" nut

In my previous post I indicated that I would be profiling two taps back to back that had appeared on this site previously as Tap Giveaway prizes. This is the second of those two taps, Celt Thirsty Warrior, featured in Tap Giveaway #11 back in April 2017. It is probably the coolest tap I ever gave away. The details and colors are fantastic - note the scar on the warrior's face, the ornate shield and helmet, the wrist band, the leather armor over the blue tunic, the red cape, the drooping mustache, and the grass around the warrior's feet. There are so many outstanding features and bright colors! The name of the brand appears in recessed lettering at the base of the tap. Although the cider it represents is an import from France, the tap can be found on the secondary market...at one time it sold for over $100 but the price has since dropped under that.

A Celt generally refers to the people in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany, also known as the Celtic nations or Celtic Crescent. They existed primarily in the Iron Age and Medieval Europe and spoke Celtic languages and had cultural similarities. Insular Celtic culture diversified into that of the Gaels (Irish, Scottish and Manx) and the Celtic Britons (Welsh, Cornish, and Bretons) of the medieval and modern periods. In addition to a ruling king, they typically had three caste levels: warriors, learned professionals (minstrels, priests, scribes) and everyone else.

Click through to read more about Cidrerie Loïc Raison, their Celt Thirsty Warrior Cider, and to see more photos of this proud tap...

Cidrerie Loïc Raison traces its roots back to the early 1900s. Louis Raison was a grocer in Domagné, France, in what is known as Britanny, part of the Celtic Crescent during medieval times. In 1918 he bought cider from local farms to sell to his customers. In 1923 he became a distiller and established the Distillerie Raison. He took the cider he was buying from the farms and began distilling it into hard cider, using 200 tons of apples a year. In 1934, Raison's son (who had the same name as his father) began to apprentice with his father in hard cider production. Louis the younger took over the business in 1945 after WWII ended, and began bottling his hard cider in 1949 after acquiring 3 bottling lines, outputting 30,000 bottles per day.

In 1962 the name of the cider was changed to Cidre Raison and began to sell outside of France. In 1977 Louis the younger became the mayor of Domagné. In 1983 he renamed the cider again, this time to Loïc Raison (Louie's actual name in French). He left the cider business in 1988 and remained mayor until 1995. Cidrerie Loïc Raison continued to flourish and maintain its status as a leading hard cider producer in the French marketplace. In 2015 the company updated its logo and released a raspberry apple cider, as well as a citrus apple cider and a vodka and lime apple cider. The company uses only French apples, and places an emphasis on quality, protecting the environment, and creating an ethical workplace. It was later acquired by Groupe Eclor.

Groupe Eclor is the beverage division of Agrial, a very large French agricultural conglomerate. It was created in 2004 with the merger of CCLF and CSR, two leading cider and apple juice producers. Today, Eclor leads the cider market in France; it has an 80% market share with brands such as Kérisac, Loïc Raison and Celt. Eclor is a key economic player in Western France. Agrial is comprised of more than 10,000 farmer members, 6,000 of which are cider apple producers.

Loïc Raison the younger passed away in 2008 at the age of 88.

Celt Thirsty Warrior is made from the finest apples in Brittany, and is a refreshing “demi-sec” cider with a fruity flavor balanced by a crisp dry finish and is best served chilled. It is an all natural cider produced from Loïc Raison's traditional recipe that has existed since 1920, using only pure fermented apple juice and no additional sugar. Most crêperies in Brittany serve cider out of ceramic bowls or "bolée”. Celt Cider has sparkled since the Iron Age when Gaul warriors roamed the ancient land named “Armor” or “Country-by-the-Sea”. They worshiped the sun, the moon and the stars and feared nothing but the sky falling on them. Celt cider is named after these proud and fearless warriors who lived in the six Celtic nations.