THISTLY Cross Cider is celebrating after lifting a top national award.

The drink, based at South Belton, just outside Dunbar, was named top artisan drink at the Scottish Rural Awards, beating off competition from Summerhouse Drinks and Shetland Reel Gin.

Daniel Sherry, business development executive, was at the gala dinner at Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh last Thursday night.

He said: “We were honoured to be a part of the Scottish Rural Awards this year and to receive the award for artisan drinks producer.

“We believe Thistly Cross is a truly rural cider, produced on a working farm and made with real ingredients in a natural process.

“All of us at Thistly Cross have the utmost respect for the other artisan beverage nominees, who are doing fantastic work to bring quality drinks to the world. It is amazing to be part of this growing category.

“We plan to continue to make the best cider we can and continue in our efforts to make a cider that represents Scotland!” More than 200 unique nominations were received since the awards opened to the public last October.

Businesses from the length and breadth of the country were nominated, with a five-man judging panel left with the task of selecting a winner from each of the 10 categories.

The judging panel was made up of Richard Bath, Scottish Field editor and Scotland on Sunday’s restaurant reviewer; Jamie Stewart, Countryside Alliance director for Scotland; Rory Kennedy, finance and business planning specialist; Charlie Shentall, development manager for the Scottish Countryside Alliance; Brian Cameron, commercial director for Wyvex Media, publisher of Scottish Field; and Paddy Crerar, chief executive of Crerar Hotels.

Mr Bath said: “I was amazed by the quality and attention to detail showed by the nominees across each hard-fought category.” During the gala dinner, a charity auction was held to raise money for the Scottish Countryside Alliance’s Routes to Rural Employment (R2RE) initiative – a Government-backed scheme which builds employment links for young people in rural communities.

It rounds off an impressive 12 months for the county’s cider company.

Last August, Thistly Cross Cider’s Traditional Tilting Cider and Strawberry Tilting Cider started being stocked on Virgin Trains.

Then, in February, supermarket giants Asda announced they would be stocking five of the company’s drinks until at least the end of the year.

And that it is not the end of it, with the Garden County company set to supply Thistly Cross Traditional to the Caledonian Sleeper service, while two 40ft containers of Thistly Cross are making their way towards the USA for thirsty customers on the other side of the Atlantic.

A Thistly Cross Cider spokeswoman added: “It looks like it’s going to be an exciting year, and winning the artisan drink category at the Scottish Rural Awards has started it in style.”