Community is at the core of everything for Bryan Morrison, the Huntly dad whose refreshing take on sustainability is changing people’s lives one apple at a time.
Fed up of seeing locally grown apples going to waste, it was crunch time for the 54-year-old who has transformed his garage into a cider and juice making facility with all the profits being poured straight back into the local area, specifically “growing projects”.
“I started making cider because I didn’t like to see the worms and slugs get to the apples and them going to waste,” says Bryan.
“So I wanted to reduce the amount of apple waste and also reduce food miles too.
“And when I was speaking to others in the town, they were really excited about it as it was a great opportunity to generate some money and put it back into the community.”
Reducing food waste
Despite only launching last year, Torrisoule, the non-profit making venture led by Bryan and a team of voluntary directors including his wife Linda (the creative force behind the project) as well as Steve Hutcheon and Yvonne Swarbrigg, is in demand with their homemade cider and juice often selling out at farmers markets.
“A lot of people are very enthused with what we’re trying to do,” says Bryan.
“Many people are now aware of us and are offering support in terms of donating their surplus apples from this year’s harvest which is great.”
Community project
Judging by the name Torrisoule alone – legend has it that Huntly started out as two hamlets, the Raws of Strathbogie and Torrisoule (or Torriesoul) – it’s clear that the community is at the heart of the project.
“The reason we picked the name is because soul in the middle and it’s also one of the original names of the two villages that became Huntly way back in the old times,” says Bryan.
“Torrisoule was the village where there was the inn that provided for the folk that weren’t staying in the castle so they would’ve stayed at the Torrisoule Inn although the spelling is variable if you look back in history, some people spell it slightly differently.
“That’s where the name Torrisoule came from, it was one of the original parts of Huntly before it became Huntly.”
Apple juice and cider
Made using 100% apples, Bryan and the team have developed three different products; apple juice, cider and a specially blended cider.
“All three products are made using 100% apples,” says Bryan.
“Our cider is very refreshing as it has a very crisp apple taste with a light fizz, it’s very tasty.
“We also make apple juice which is very good and we also make a limited edition cider makers select bottle which is a bit more special.”
Rooted in the community
With such firm roots in the local community, it’s no surprise that the profits made from Torrisoule is already making an impact in the local area.
“This year we’ve supported the Huntly Hairst, a little festival that takes place in Huntly on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th September this year,” says Bryan.
“It’s been running for a number of years now and it’s great as it’s like an extended farmers market to celebrate local food and there’s also 10k, 5k and half marathon running races.”
Dedicated team of volunteers
As well as benefitting the community through various growing projects, Bryan says Torrisoule is also bringing people together.
“When we come to make the cider we’ve got a lot of volunteers who come along to help us,” says Bryan.
“We need about 16 people to assist in making the juice.
“It’s actually such a good day as there’s so many people involved and it’s a good experience for folk to enjoy what we’re trying to do.
“I hope it will last in the community.”
Apple donations
Bryan says the response from the community has been amazing with many people getting in touch to donate apples.
“It’s great that people are donating apples to us, “says Bryan.
“Usually they just email us or call us and we can come and collect the apples or we can come and pick the apples and we can take them away.”
Seasonal
Patience is a virtue when it comes to making the cider as it is a purely seasonal process.
“Most of the work is managing the apples and getting them to juice so that’s the biggest part of the work,” says Bryan who works onshore for an oil and gas company.
“It takes about six months roughly to make the cider.
“The cider itself is a natural process, it just takes time and once it’s ready it’s ready and when it’s not ready you just wait.”
Sustainable
It’s certainly worth the wait though as people can’t seem to get enough of the homemade cider.
“We’ve not made an awful lot of money for the community in the first year because we only made 100 litres which we managed to sell out in 40 minutes at the first farmer’s market we did in December,” says Bryan.
“It was great there was a huge queue at the Farmers market.
“We also did another Farmer’s Market recently and it was brilliant.
“We’re in for a good year this year as we’ve got a lot more cider to sell.”
Big plans
Sustainable in every sense of the word, Bryan and the team also donate any left-over apple pulp to a local farmer.
“We’ve even got a local pig owner who takes the waste apples up which the pigs enjoy,” says Bryan.
Looking to the future, Bryan hopes their community driven venture can expand.
“We need to get some more equipment,” says Bryan.
“We had been trying for funding but that’s not been successful yet as there’s a lot of competition out there for funding.
“If we get our income up a bit we can think about new premises.
“In the next couple of years we’ll be looking to move out of the garage and into something a bit more useful.”
It’s the community that will always remain at the core of this pioneering drinks project though.
“At the moment we’re looking forward to getting plenty of apples this year and then once we have the apples, we can start thinking about how we can monetise it,” says Bryan.
“At the end of the day it’s all about maximising the money for the community.”
A round of questions with Bryan Morrison
It’s the end of the day, what do you pour yourself?
Most days a good cup of tea, for special days it could be a cider or a nice red wine.
If you were a drink, what would you be and why?
I’m not really a spirits person, so maybe an Imperial Stout (beer), full bodied!
Most unusual drink you’ve ever tried?
A long, long time ago, warm milk straight from the dairy. It’s a drink I’m happy to forget.
What’s the most under-rated drink?
After visiting France recently a Ricard Pastis aperitif (a classic French aperitif that tastes of fresh, crisp liquorice) is a great starter.
What’s in your drinks cabinet at home?
Must be close to everything (cocktail experimenting.)
Best food and drink pairing?
The old favourite, steak and an Argentinian Malbec.
If you were stuck on a desert island, what three drinks would be there with you?
Water (practical), tea (homely), brown beer (food group).
You have to make a drink to represent Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire. What would that be?
So much to choose from beer, gin, whisky, cider – we do a lot of things very well.
You have to serve your favourite superhero or celebrity a drink. Who is it and what do you serve?
James Clerk Maxwell who was an Aberdeen Marischal College professor and a world renowned physicist who was up there with Einstein and Newton. I would like to see what he thought of Torrisoule Cider.
Tell us a secret trick of the trade?
When making skirlie you have to use dripping nothing else works as well.
To find out more about Torrisoule, check out their website, www.torrisoule.co.uk, Facebook @torrisoule and Instagram @huntlyciderandjuice.
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