Photo: Jennifer Zielinski

After many years it's finally back – well, a more modern version.

Hard apple cider made from 100 per cent B.C. apples by the folks at SunRype is now available for a limited time.

The special-edition cider contains seven per cent alcohol and commemorates the 70th anniversary of the company.

Fermented in small batches, the cider is described as crisp and dry.

President and CEO of SunRype, Dave McAnerney says the company has been producing products from B.C. apples since 1946.

“What many people don’t know is back in the 1950s we launched Canada’s first hard cider. The product was called B.C. Sparkling Cider, and was processed and bottled by the Caribou Brewing Company in Penticton.”

He says back then there wasn’t anything like it on the market.

“Today, of course, the cider category has exploded, so we are excited to celebrate SunRype’s 70th birthday with the launch of a special edition cider.”

The cider features a retro design on the bottle of a photograph from the early century apple pickers in the orchards of the Okanagan, circa 1946.

SunRype still operates in the heart of the Okanagan Valley, where it launched its flagship 100 per cent not-from-concentrate blue apple juice many years ago.

This new cider is available in 650-ml bomber-style bottles at select private liquor stores across the province.