Magners
- This article is about the Irish brand of cider. For the English brand of the same name, see: Bulmers.
Bulmers Original Irish Cider is a cider produced in Ireland. To prevent confusion with the English cider of the same name it is sold outside of the Republic of Ireland as Magners.
Commercial cider production was started in Clonmel, County Tipperary in Ireland in 1935, by local man William Magner. Magner quickly established a successful business and in 1937 he joined forces with the famous English cider-makers H.P. Bulmer and Company. Dowds Lane in Clonmel was the location of this burgeoning enterprise. In 1949 Magner withdrew from the business and the Bulmers name came to the fore. To prevent confusion, this Clonmel-based cider is exported around the world under the brand name "Magners".
In 1964 the company name was changed to Showerings (Ireland) Ltd. Soon afterwards the company moved its main processing operations to a new complex at Annerville, three miles from the centre of Clonmel, which was opened in 1965 by the taoiseach, Sean Lemass, TD.
Today Irish Bulmers Ltd. employs more than 470 people and is a substantial part of the economic infrastructure of the community of Clonmel. It is owned by C&C, one of Ireland's biggest drinks companies.
It is available in 330-ml, pint and litre bottles and 500-ml cans, and is traditionally served over ice. It is also available in some bars on draught. Initially only available in The Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland, the brand has seen its popularity increase significantly in recent years and is now available across the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and the United States.
The current TV advertising for Bulmers in Ireland involves adverts that run in each of the seasons. They show a brief shot of an orchard in seasonal conditions (bare and snow covered in winter, lush and green with sunny skies in summer) at the start of the advert, and then how people enjoy the drink during these seasons (by a warm fire in winter, out in the warm sun during summer). The current TV advertising campaign for Magners in the UK shows brief clips of the process of how the cider gets from orchard to glass, accompanied by the slogan "Time Dedicated To You". The advert is backed by an instrumental version of Thin Lizzy's "Dancing In The Moonlight (It's Caught Me In Its Spotlight)".
This success has led to the UK's market leader in cider Scottish & Newcastle introducing 'Sirrus', a version of its Strongbow cider produced specifically to be poured over ice. In 2006 they also relaunched Bulmers Original in the UK, a premium packaged cider aimed at combating Magners in the "served over ice" market, which has grown in popularity over the last few years.
Drinking cider over ice mirrors the move towards chilled and "extra-cold" beers.