Cider is not street drinking

Different open parties parties are opting for a model of fun where drinks such as cider are preferred to the so-called “white”.

LA SIDRA.-          We are already immersed in the Asturian prau parties. And although cider has always been a fundamental element in this type of cultural manifestations, it is necessary to recognize that, these years, younger people has opted to drink another type of beverages with high alcoholic graduation.

This year, however, there has been a change. Festivals such as Castiello and, the most famous, Carmín in La Pola, have chosen to prohibit the so-called botellón. Not alcoholic beverages: what you don’t want is for attendees to arrive with several plastic bags filled with vodka, gin or rum; soft drinks with high levels of sugar, and the resulting bomb mixture to get high. The organizers consider that “the sense of the festivity is lost”.

To the voices that point out that the aim is to raise more money in the bars, and their thinking that “only this way you can get money for the next year’s party”, add the recommendations of the Public Health, which point out that there are more and more ethyl poisonings in younger people nowadays.

Cider is a cultural drink, which has always been present in Asturian celebrations. Specialists, doctors and members of the Asturian administration highlight its low graduation, and even its health benefits if drunk responsibly. It is also an affordable drink, and this has been noticed at a time when – by prohibiting the entrance with “white drinks” to the festivities – young people are opting for the drink typical of these lands. Cider producers have been saying for years that young people are opting for another type of drink. Perhaps the botellón ban helps to reverse that situation a little. But of course, it is also necessary to demand from the producers that the cider that is sold… is of good quality.