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Gracias @mountainjewel! I am really chuffed you enjoyed it! I am too fascinated by customs that are limited to really small regions... Most seem like a bit of a fluke and many of their inhabitants follow them without question (as I did in the way I poured my cider and drank it... it was just 'they way it has always been done') but rarely are they completely unfounded. There is always a good reason why these traditions are passed from generation to generation - from 400B.C. in this case, when the cider was poured out of large barrels into wooden tankards a bit like this....

so cool! love the bit about what you said about drinking with each other, only pouring a bit at at time to keep the carbonation and not drinking the dregs. all useful customs with a history :D