Graham Bucknall, landlord of The Ship Inn in Elie, has been recruited by Thatchers Cider to take part in a national advertising campaign highlighting how the family-owned brand’s independent character makes it a favourite with independent publicans.
“It’s no secret that landlords in the free trade are the hardest to impress,” said Martin Thatcher, fourth generation cidermaker at Thatchers.
“As a family business with 122 years of expertise, we know what it means to have your name on the door. For us, it’s a matter of personal pride. And we know that it is for independent publicans too.
“For them, the choice of what’s served on the bar is personal. That’s what makes Thatchers Gold being the No.1 choice of independent landlords a real badge of honour.”
This independent synchronicity is what inspired Thatcher’s to visit ‘some of the very best free trade landlords across the country’, for its new advertising campaign.
“We wanted to hear more about the sense of responsibility that comes with freedom of choice, and why they use it to choose Thatchers Gold,” said Martin.
As well as running The Ship Inn in Elie, Bucknall runs The Bridge Inn in Ratho and The 19th Hole in Earlsferry. He has lived in the east of Scotland for over 30 years and knew and loved The Ship Inn before even taking it on 18 years ago.
“My wife and I bought the pub and set out to make it the sort of place we wanted our mates to hang out in,” said Bucknall. “And here we are 18 years later in The Ship Inn, and I think for many people in Scotland and further afield, it’s their favourite pub in the world!” he said.
When asked how they achieved that, Bucknall said: “The key to this game is making sure that standards are as high as possible. We all know the pressure the industry is facing, and we are no different, but we choose to address it by being as excellent as we can be at everything.
“Always making sure the staff are happy. And if they’re happy the customer is happy. Then if we’re putting great food on a plate, and we’re putting a great drink in a glass, we’re 90% of the way there.”
When it comes to the drinks they serve, Bucknall’s standards are high: “We want something that reflects our own ethos. We want independence. We want someone who cares about their product. We want something that looks great. We want something that tastes great. We want something that’s got a good story to tell.
“When we first came across Thatchers, we met the team and we loved them and we loved the cider. I like the taste. I like what it says to people.”
Bucknall continued: “It’s a brand that says everything about integrity, about family owned, about quality of ingredients, about care for the products. And we like the fact that whenever we say to people ‘Have a Thatchers’, they’re delighted.”
“We like the first sip. We like the last sip. It looks good in the glassware. It works well on the bar. Also, it delivers great value. It is a premium product, but the pricing enables us to make our customers feel that they can have one and come back and have it again if they wish.”
