Sprouting from a dream that took root in 2012 in a simple barn in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Bold Rock Hard Cider has emerged to become the nation’s largest and best-selling regional cider brand.
From its humble beginnings, Bold Rock’s footprint has grown to include production homes in both Virginia and North Carolina, and a distribution map that includes more than 20 states. But one thing that hasn’t changed at Bold Rock since its founding in Nellysford, VA: its commitment to working with local orchards to source the highest quality apples and to crafting an incredibly drinkable style of hard cider that’s approachable for consumers of all tastes and suitable for all festive occasions.
Established on a firm belief that “the land is the brand,” Bold Rock is driven by a commitment to nature and the environment — and to ideals such as bringing people together over a sustainably crafted alcoholic beverage. The cidery’s bucolic surroundings lend to an embrace of the natural beauty that surrounds us, and it boasts a hint-of-folksy company culture built on rural sensibilities and hard work. (That said, with a co-founder hailing from New Zealand, a president native to South Africa and staff members from various corners of the nation and world, Bold Rock’s culture also benefits from a unique connection to the broader global environment.)
Created for people who seek flavor in their beverages and the world around them, Bold Rock uses 14 different apple varieties in the cider production process, primarily culinary apples such as Granny Smith, Gala, McIntosh and Rome. It presses over 400,000 pounds of fresh apples each month, and roughly 20 days of fermenting, fining, cold filtering and blending follow before the cider is ready for bottling, canning or kegging.
The fruit of Bold Rock’s labor is exhibited in an award-winning core lineup of hard ciders that includes the Granny Smith-centric Apple, the balanced Premium Dry and a range of other fruit-driven flavors like Pineapple and Blackberry Cider. And with a commitment to being bold, the brand has also nurtured innovation with its fruit-forward seasonal cider selections, and has even launched a groundbreaking line of Hard Teas & Hard Lemonades. Additionally, the Bold Rock line-up now includes spirits and canned craft cocktails.
As a partner in Artisanal Brewing Ventures, Bold Rock benefits from a scaling of efforts, a boost in business-support staff and added access to resources that allows it to devote more focus to delivering bold flavors and bold experiences for its consumers. Demonstrating just a couple of examples of the benefits that the ABV partnership has delivered for Bold Rock, the company’s previous sales team of roughly 25 members quadrupled in size overnight as a result of joining the collective, and the added scale brought by the ABV partnership allows the cidery to pursue its continual efforts to expand, grow and innovate with reduced risks.
Now just over 10 years old, Bold Rock is as committed as ever to the spirit that its motto summarizes: Be bold. Tread lightly. Make it happen.
Quick Facts
largest regional cider brand in the United States and best-selling cider brand family in the Mid-South