Cider Lovers From All Over UK Visit Cuckoo as it Wins Major Award

The Cuckoo Inn at Hamptworth has been chosen as the best cider pub across a huge area of Southern England by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

The pub will now go forward to the national championships to be decided later this year.

Greek-born landlord Nik Amplianitis, who admits he knew very little about cider when he took over the pub near Salisbury four years ago, said that he is “over the moon” at becoming CAMRA’s South Central Region Cider Pub of the Year.

He was presented with his regional winner’s certificate and Wiltshire county certificates for two years running by Norman Clinnick, Regional Director of CAMRA, and Jane Foster, Cider Champion of the Salisbury & South Wiltshire branch, at the 150-year-old pub on the outskirts of the New Forest. CAMRA’s South Central Region covers the four mainland counties of Wiltshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, and Dorset plus the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands.

Since taking over in 2022, when The Cuckoo stocked only four ciders, Nik has turned it into a destination pub for cider-lovers from all over the United Kingdom and Ireland. “I have one couple who come all the way down from Scotland, others from Wales and Ireland,” he said. 

“We have established quite a reputation, and winning this regional CAMRA trophy is a huge help for us”

“I am from Greece, and we don’t really do cider there,” added Nik. “I initially said that we are going to have 14 ciders and everybody said I was mad. Now we have increased the number of still ciders from 25 to 45, and we also have zero alcohol ciders. What I want to do is embrace the whole cider world, covering all types.”

“It is great to get this award. We take cider very, very seriously, perhaps because I am a cider drinker myself! I am constantly looking for ciders and cidermakers that I have not come across before to provide our customers with new choices.” 

Jane Foster said: “I became the Cider Champion of the Salisbury & South Wiltshire branch of CAMRA in 2022 and started visiting our local pubs that served cider. The Cuckoo really stood out above the rest, serving a wide range of real ciders and perry. It won our branch Cider Pub of the Year award in 2023 and has repeated this three times since then, as well as winning the county trophy.”

“Nik truly deserves this recognition. His success is the result of hard work, dedication and passion for cider. He works hard to make sure that his ciders are served in the best possible condition. The Cuckoo has now been put forward for the national competition giving it the chance to be chosen as the best cider pub in the entire country.”

The Cuckoo is owned by the Hamptworth Estate, and Nik, who has lived in the UK for 13 years, was invited by the estate’s owner to take over the pub, which was lying empty and in need of renovation. Nik and his wife Sofia have restored the fortunes of this much-loved venue, which is once again popular with locals and visitors.

Only pubs selling real cider were considered for these awards. CAMRA defines real cider as being fermented from the whole juice of freshly pressed apples, without the use of concentrated or chaptalised juices. Chaptalisation is a process in which the alcohol level is increased by adding sugar, then diluted with water to the desired alcohol content for sale.