Mac Ivors, the multi-award winning cider producer, has launched a refreshing new product for health conscious consumers.

The company, based at Portadown, has just introduced an alcohol-free cider that’s also gluten-free, low in calories and vegan-friendly. With only 76 calories per bottle, this novel drink has been created by experienced cider maker Greg MacNeice, who is also the company’s managing director, to offer a range of benefits for those concerned about health while still maintaining an authentic and delicious cider taste.

The introduction of the new medium dry cider coincides with a new distribution agreement in the Republic of Ireland between Mac Ivors, which has collected a host of cider industry awards as well as UK Great Taste Awards, andNoreast in Dundalk, a major supplier of premium drinks to hotels and bars throughout the Republic of Ireland.

“Our new alcohol-free and other established ciders are now being distributed throughout the Republic of Ireland by Noreast as well as by Drinks Inc. in Northern Ireland,” says Mr MacNeice.

“We’re are also currently exploring opportunities in Canada, Britain and other parts of Europe for the new cider. The alcohol-free cider will be available in 330ml bottles in off trade at RRP €1.79 in ROI and RRP £1.50 in N. Ireland.

“We are very pleased with the new cider which has alsoproduced exremeley positive feedback in taste tests. Our aim has been to produce a genuine cider rather than a drink that tastes like apple juice and we’ve succeeded. The new product is a response to the growing market for a ‘healthier’ product especially among those concerned about weight and overall fitness. It’s also a delicious and safer option for drivers especially the designated driver on a night out,” he adds.

In addition, the new cider features labelling which lists all the ingredients and nutritional facts and reflects the company’s strategic focus on transparency and integrity.

Mr MacNeice says the company, based on the family’s apple orchards in Co Armagh, had signed the distribution deal with Noreast as part of a strategy to drive growth in sales of its entire range in the Republic, its most important market beyond Northern Ireland.

“We decided in late 2019 that the time was right to step up our approach in the Republic. We’ve known the team at Noreast for a number of years and their experienced sales team will work closely with our dynamic Brand Ambassador, Sarah Mc Nally to bring Mac Ivors Cider to a range of on and off-trade outlets.

“Noreast is an ideal fit for us because of its very strong reputation in the Republic, its network of premium customers, and its portfolio of leading beer and spiritsbrands. We are Noreast’s only Irish cider brand and they will be able to focus on developing sales across our range of quality products,” continues Mr MacNeice.

Mac Ivors is also selling its ciders to Germany, France, Russiaand Scandinavia as well as Great Britain. The ciders are made from 100 per cent fresh pressed apples and have been developed to provide a richly flavoured, refreshing and aromatic craft beverage.

The ciders are cold-pressed and slow fermented over eight months to ensure the outstanding flavour that customers are coming to appreciate. They do not contain any concentrates, artificial flavourings or colourings and up to 14 different varieties of apples, including Armagh Bramleys, are used in the process.

The next episode of UTV’s Rare Breed – A Farming Year features four of our farming families, and it’s all about the silage and the show this week!

Rare Breed – A Farming Year continues on Thursday at 8.30pm UTV and May’s sunny, warm weather means it’s prime silage season. The Lyons brothers have a small window of time to get silage in for all their customers in the Coleraine area.  Stephen comments, “The plan is to get everybody ready and out the lane at the same time.” They are so busy that Stephen himself is cutting silage and managing to answer calls as well. “The phone never stops,” he says.

Next, we head to The Balmoral Show where Jack Smyth from Newtownstewart is showing Angus and Charolais cattle, hotly contested categories.  His parents, friend Trevor and girlfriend Emma are all there to support and help him out.  Despite nursing a sore knee, Jack has a good day and the cows behave well.  There are also a few familiar faces to spot in the crowd.

We then head to Lisnaskea to Stephen Maguire’s farm where he’s putting cattle out to graze. He explains the science behind rotating the cattle around different areas of his land to ensure that the cattle are constantly getting the best quality grass.  He talks of “three days in and three weeks out,” of grazing in any area to allow the grass to replenish. He comments, “The more you measure, the more you manage.”  He also has to carry out some ready repairs on a section of electric fencing that the cows have eaten through!   Back in his office, he is sharing his grass data with fellow famers saying it’s a great way to learn best practice.

Meanwhile in Clogher, the McGoverns have had bad news. They’ve had to slaughter a cow which tested positive for TB. She had just had twin claves so Sean is trying to get another cow to adopt and feed them. He’s trying to ensure that they don’t get sick with the change in milk, saying, It’s time consuming, a torture to be honest.” He talks about how disappointed he and the girls are to lose a cow that had had two previous TBtests that were clear. He points out that the girls’ positive outlook ‘always seems to give you a lift’ and says, we ‘need to keep going and look after the herd.’

UTV’s Mark McFadden narrates the series, sponsored by Moy Park.   Rare Breed – A Farming Year continues on Thursday 6th February at 8.30pm on UTV.

McKendry’s Lounge | Bar, formerly Gillies Bar & Grill, serves up exclusive whiskey offering

Galgorm Spa and Golf Resort has officially opened its doors to the Resort’s newly refurbished and refreshed entertainment offering, McKendry’s Lounge/Bar.

Formerly known as Gillies Bar & Grill, McKendry’s is now a whiskey lover’s haven, boasting an encyclopedic whiskey collection of over 300 blends from 21 countries, including a coveted limited-edition bottle of the most expensive Irish whiskey ever produced, “The Chosen”.

The new whiskey lounge/bar reflects the warm ambience and atmosphere of an eclectic Irish pub and draws on its local heritage, harking back to the much-loved McKendry’s bar of a bygone era, which served the local community from its premises in Broughshane Street, Ballymena before closing its doors.

Welcoming Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort’s newest hospitality investment, Colin Johnston, Galgorm Collection Managing Director, said;

“We are delighted to welcome guests to our brand new lounge bar, McKendry’s and showcase our extensive whiskey collection which we are proud to say is one of the most comprehensive in the island of Ireland.

The launch of McKendry’s represents the latest investment by Galgorm into its Resort offering and reflects our ambition to continually innovate and push boundaries to affirm our position as a world-leading spa and golf resort. We look forward to welcoming guests, locals and visitors alike to experience the warm hospitality of McKendry’s.”

Offering guests the warm welcome synonymous with Galgorm, the new name perfectly connects the Resort with its strong local heritage. Much of the décor consists of historical items from the original McKendry’s bar and provides guests with an authentic Irish bar experience.

As well as boasting some rare whiskies and stocking the finest mixers, Galgorm has devised a new signature whiskey cocktail list to complement its existing range of premium cocktails, wines, beers and spirits.

For a truly authentic taste, guests can also sample the Resort’s first premium own-label ‘Galgorm Estate Gin’, developed in partnership with Northern Ireland’s newest artisan gin producer, Copeland Distillery, and drink in the fantastic new line up of live entertainment.

McKendry’s Lounge/Bar is open 12:00pm – 01:00am Sunday to Friday and 12:00pm – late on Saturdays, with live entertainment every evening, including traditional Irish music every Tuesday and Thursday night.

For more information on McKendry’s Lounge I Bar please visit www.galgorm.com

Diners in high-end restaurants in Tokyo and Dubai will soon be enjoying luxury cheese from Ballylisk of Armagh as a result of company’s participation in the food and drink showcase organised by Invest Northern Ireland.

Ballylisk, based on a family dairy farm at Tandragee, near Portadown in county Armagh, made contacts at the important‘meet the buyer’ event at the start of December and these led directly to the company’s first sales in Asia and the United Arab Emirates. Products are now on their way to customers in both global markets.

The latest export successes come as the award winning company gears up for the launch of two highly innovative cheeses – a soft blue and a brie – soon

Dean Wright, the founder and managing director of Ballylisk, says the new export clients are taking the company’s two unique cheeses – Triple Rose, a rich and distinctively flavoured triple cream, and a smoked variety. Both cheesesare produced from milk sourced from the farm’s pedigree, grass-fed dairy herd.

“We were delighted to meet buyers from Asia, the Middle East and other markets at the ‘meet the buyer’ event organised by Invest NI with support from Food NI,” continues Mr Wright. “It’s been our experience these events really do work for us especially in terms of new international contacts and sales. The new contacts loved the quality and tastes of our cheese and placed orders,” he adds.

The company, Ireland’s only producer of triple cream cheese, has seen exports grow substantially over the past year and currently sells more than 60 percent of its cheese to customers outside Northern Ireland. “Our business is growing strongly in both Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, markets in which we have some very high profile customers in both retail, especially Fortnum and Mason, and food distribution,” Mr Wright continues. “Indeed, we anticipate that by Easter we will be selling 90 percent of our products to markets beyond Northern Ireland.

“Fortnum and Mason, in particular, has become an immensely important customer over the past year and sold a great deal of our cheese over the Christmas period. As well as our developing success with Fortnum and Mason, we are experiencing exceptional business at London’s iconic Borough Market,” adds Mr Wright.

Mr Wright founded the small business in 2016 and developed the initial Triple Rose cheese with help from Invest NI and the Food Technology Centre at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise at Loughry, near Cookstown. Helaunched its very first product at Balmoral Show 2018 – Ireland’s largest agricultural and food show.

The Triple Rose cheese went on to win the ‘Best New Product’ award on the same day and remains the company’sflagship product. It also won two Gold Stars at the 2019 Great Taste Awards and was a finalist in the 2018 Great British Cheese Awards. It also proved a winner at the Blas na hEireann Awards, the Irish National Food Awards.

A fifth generation farmer, Mr Wright points out that the company has full control over the production process fromfarm to fork. “We also grow our own grain to feed the cattle and breed our own cows,” he explains. The farm has been in the Wright family since 1820 and currently employs four people.

An experienced farmer, Mr Wright is committed to traditional low intensity farming practices and excellence in animal welfare and husbandry. He explains: “The dairy industry is changing steadily in part as a result of consumer concerns, both here and globally, about preserving the environment and high intensive production. We are responding to these concerns by reviewing and restructuring all our practices.

Mr Wright continues: “Exporting is now crucially important to the growth of our business and is a huge area for growth. So, we have to respond to the changes underway within the global industry and in consumer attitudes to farming and especially dairy products,” he adds.

 

Mash Direct in Comber, the manufacturer of potato and vegetable sides dishes and convenience dishes is recruiting 12 staff and increasing production after a £10million funding boost.

The Comber family business, which has around 200 staff, is to use the cash boost from HSBC UK to become more environmentally friendly.

New solar and wind energy equipment will be installed along with a new wastewater treatment facility.

Mash Direct will also add new production lines, so it can produce new dishes and increase capacity, and invest in robotics and enterprise management software.

Additional plans include the hiring of 12 new staff in roles from operations to human resources.

Chief operating officer Jack Hamilton, whose parents Tracy and Martin founded the farm-based firm, said: “With growing demand for our range of products at home and abroad, it was essential that we invested in new, environmentally friendly machinery and in the talented, skilled staff we currently have.”

The company has also invested in measures to reduce plastic usage including replacing black plastic trays with green alternatives.

The next episode of UTV’s Rare Breed – A Farming Year features five of our farming families, and we meet the last of our 10 families, a dairy farmer from Cloughmills, Co. Antrim. 

Rare Breed – A Farming Year continues on Thursday at 8.30pm UTV and April’s a busy time for the families. We meet dairy farmer Wallace Gregg, who’s a third generation farmer, based near Cloughmills, with 160 Holstein cows. He has four young children who all get involved in the farm and who look after their ownanimals too.  Wallace comments, “It’s nice to see the kids helping.”   He talks of his love of farming, “You don’t go into farming unless you love to do it because of the long hours….it can be lonely but it’s a way of life.”  He is preparing for big changes this year. After a long wait, he’s finally got permission to build a new parlour. It’s an exciting development but a critical one if the farm is to thrive for future generations.

Valentine and Chris Hodges are checking on their bees at Greyabbey.  It’s a key time to open the hives and inspect the colonies. They need to do this every seven days to ensure the bees stay active and bright. Chris picks out a drone bee, which don’t have stings and are much bigger, and explains the vital role they play in the upkeep of the hive.   He’s happy that the bees have wintered well and loves this time of year when he starts operating with the bees more regularly.

We then head to the Belfast Hills where Mark McConnell and his dad Phillip have an anxious wait for the result of a TB test.   They sold a cow that ended up in a herd with TB, so their farm was closed as a result. Vet Cahir McAuley, who has appeared himself previously on Rare Breed, is overseeing the testing, the results of which have to be sent to the Department of Agriculture before the herd can be confirmed TB free.

Meanwhile near the iconic Dark Hedges in Co. Antrim, contractors the Lyons Brothers have a ploughing job. They employ European and World Champion ploughman, Thomas Cochrane to do the work. He speaks with pride about not only his competition achievements but equally about doing a good job as a contractor.   He loves straight lines in a field, and laughs, “This is a new tractor and it has no GPS yet, my eyes are the GPS!”

Finally, we visit Ballyclare vet Diane Beattie. She’s working a routine morning pet clinic but that soon all changes when an emergency arises. A ewe is in labour and in difficulty, and requires a C-Section. She remarks, “That’s the unpredictability of being a vet, having to switch from one thing to the next.”

UTV’s Mark McFadden narrates the series, sponsored by Moy Park.   Rare Breed – A Farming Year continues on Thursday 30th January at 8.30pm on UTV.