“Milokleftis”, or “Apple bandit”, in English — which in Greek actually means the one who steals apples — is the brand of the first Greek apple cider. It is a very popular and successful product in Greece, since from 2014 till now, it has gained from 1% to 5% of the Greek market.
There is a very interesting story behind this cider. Despite the fact that now the product is considered Greek, initially it was imported and brought in the Greek market by the Athenian brewery. All of that, because of an old law, a royal decree from 1922, which didn’t allow the use of fruit in the production of alcoholic drinks and beverages. This law was finally cancelled in 2017, the year in which, the production of “Milokleftis” cider started in the factory of Patras.
Still, though, “Milokleftis” can’t be considered a totally Greek product, because the raw material, the apples used for its production, are imported in Greece from Slovenia. 2019 is supposed to be the year when the cultivation of the special variety of apples needed for the cider production, is going to start in Greece, creating a lot of new places of occupation.