Shortcross Gin has been successful in the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC), one of the world’s leading events for the industry.

Shortcross, the first craft gin in Northern Ireland in over a century, collected two silver medals for its Original Gin and for its Bartender’s Edition in the annual competition which attracted over 3,000 entries from across the world.

Shortcross Gin, a Food NI member company, is produced at the Rademon Estate Craft Distillery, near Crossgar, Co Down, established by husband and wife team David and Fiona Boyd-Armstrong in 2014.

Shortcross Gin is inspired by the rich lush grounds of the Rademon Estate, right in the heart of County Down. Wild clover, elderflowers and elderberries are foraged on the estate, to give aromatic and floral notes, apples crispness and sweet juicy hints.

The recipe for Shortcross is a well-kept secret, but be assured all the typical botanicals like Juniper, Coriander, Orange and Cassia are alive in every sip.

The final ingredient, is pure fresh spring water drawn from the historic well at Rademon Estate. Shortcross Gin is an artisan crafted product that reflects its place of production.

The gin is now on sale in around 30 countries worldwide. A new state-of-the-art visitors centre overlooking the estates’ rolling hills, entertains public tours and corporate events.

Founded in 2000, the SFWSC is one of the oldest competitions of its kind. With nearly two decades of experience, our operation has become a fine-tuned masterpiece that blends passion and professionalism.

Other Northern Ireland producers successful in the competition were Bushmills Irish Whiskey, which won double gold for its 10 year single malt, gold for Black Bush and silver for original Irish Whiskey, Niche Drinks in Derry which won silver for St Brendan’s Cream Liquour and The Quiet Man which won two silver medals for its 8 year single malt and for its blended Irish whiskey.

 

Northern Ireland’s Boatyard Double Gin is to launch in Canada with the highly influential Liquor Control Board of Ontario in the autumn.

 

The major breakthrough in Ontario was announced by Joe McGirr, the founder and managing director of Boatyard, Northern Ireland’s only double distilled gin, and follows a rigorous selection process.

 

Mr McGirr explains: “Only a handful of brands get past the long and rigorous selection process to enter the Ontario market. This usually takes 12 months or  more. Unique sized bottles, special French and English labels and intensive testing are required prior to approval.”

LCBO is an Ontario Government enterprise and one of the world’s largest buyers and retailers of beverage alcohol. It offers more than 26,000 products annually from more than 80 countries, to consumers and licensed establishments.

Boatyard Double Gin is a Food NI member company and has been assisted by Invest NI in Canada.

Mr McGirr continues: “LCBO sells to over 660 retail stores, over 210 agency stores and as wholesaler to almost 250 grocery stores, as well as on-trade licensed premises.

“Boatyard will join three other Irish brands in being among the first ever gins from Ireland to enter the Ontario market in 2019 with a launch planned for the autumn.

 

“This is a significant achievement for us as we expand into the North American market.  It comes at a really exciting time as this year we have received our new custom-built still which enables us to double production capacity. We also reopen our newly refurbished visitor space for tours.”

 

Boatyard Double Gin is based overlooking Lough Erne in Co Fermanagh, near Enniskillen, in a former boat house. The company now features a state-of-the- art distillery which is producing a range of award-winning gins as well as a recently launched vodka.

 

In addition, the small company, formed by Mr McGirr, is 2016 is maturing the first malt whiskey to be distilled in Fermanagh since 1887.

 

Only the best organic ingredients have been chosen for each of the products with the terroir of the land at the forefront of each spirit.

For Boatyard Double Gin, organically produced wheat spirit is macerated for 18 hours with eight different botanicals including Sweet Gale from Fermanagh.

.

Boatyard Old Tom Gin is the first of its kind to be launched in Ireland. Boatyard Vodka is the first seed-to-sip vodka in Ireland. Made using organic Irish wheat grown in Co. Kildare, each bottle can be traced back to the farm and field it came from. Malted Irish wheat is steeped in hot water to produce a sugary liquid, ‘wort’. Once cooled, champagne yeast is added and left it to ferment for seven days.

 

 

Northern Ireland’s Peppup Sauces, an award-winning developer of authentic Italian ketchup and pasta sauces, has won business with Broadway Deli in the Cotswolds.

The first business with the deli, located at Broadway in Worcestershire, followed Peppup’s participation on the FoodNI/InvestNI ‘Taste the Greatness’ presentation at the recent Farm Shop and Deli Show at the NEC in Birmingham.

Based at Portaferry in Co Down, the artisan sauce business was founded by Luca Montorio, originally from Turin, in 2013 and is now selling sauces throughout the UK and Ireland. Peppup is a Food NI member company.

Peppup most recently signed a deal to supply TK Maxx stores in the UK.

The contact which led to the TK Maxx deal was made on the Taste the Greatness stand at Scotland’s Speciality Food Show in Glasgow earlier in the year. The company also supplies Booth’s supermarkets in Lancashire.

Mr Montorio, commenting on the latest business, says: “I was approached by Broadway Deli, among the most successful independent delis in the Cotswolds, at Birmingham to see if I would be interested in supplying them.

“They had tasted the ketchup and pasta sauces and were impressed by the premium quality, branding and, above all, their outstanding taste. I was thrilled by their comments and delighted to supply my original and award-winning sauces to them.

“I am really looking forward to working closely with the Broadway team on initiatives including sampling sessions to ensure the success of this important new business,” he adds.

The new Peppup customer is a stylish independent delicatessen and café established 2002 in the the historic St Patrick’s building in the centre of Broadway in the picturesque Cotswolds.

The café and shop specialises in serving home cooked food with many vegan and gluten free choices.

It works with producers and suppliers from around the world which focus on the quality, integrity and provenance of their produce.

 

Long Meadow Cider has enhanced its business with Sainsbury’s with a deal to launch its Berry Burst cider in the supermarket’s 13 stores across Northern Ireland.

 

Based near Loughgall in Co Armagh at the heart of Northern Ireland’s ‘Orchard Country’, Long Meadow is now among the most enterprising, innovative and successful producers of cider, juice and apple cider vinegar. The family business is a Food NI member company.

 

The latest deal with Sainsbury’s follows Long Meadow’s success in having two products – Medium Blossom Burst and Rhubarb and Honey – launched by the supermarket in Northern Ireland last May.

 

Catherine McKeever, who runs the cider processing business with husband Pat and son Peter, commenting on the new listing, says: “We are immensely encouraged by the decision by Sainsbury’s in Northern Ireland to add a further line from us. It’s a tremendous endorsement of the quality and taste of our award-winning ciders.”

The McKeever family established the cider business in 2012 as a diversification of their apple farm. For three generations the McKeever family has been growing and processing apples at Long Meadow in Armagh.

The company grows and processes a variety of apples including tart Bramleys, which have EU protected status, along with Sweet Katy’s, Worcester and Golden Delicious.

The progressive family business, in addition, won a major marketing competition run by the George Best City Airport which has given the company’s products a substantial profile at the airport.

Sainsbury’s has 13 stores across Northern Ireland and spends around £250 million annually in sourcing a wide range of products from local suppliers.

 

Fortnum and Mason, the iconic London department store and gourmet food hall, is now selling Ballylisk Triple Rose cheese from a dairy farm producer in Armagh.

The new Northern Ireland artisan cheese at Fortnum and Mason, renowned as a supplier of food, drink and other products to the Royal household, has been developed by brothers Mark and Dean Wright on the family’s dairy farm at Tandragee. Ballylisk of Armagh is a Food NI member.

The triple cream cheese, Triple Rose from Ballylisk of Armagh, is produced from milk sourced exclusively from the family’s pedigree Friesian herd on the 200-acre farm and was launched in 2017.  The family has been farming in the Ballylisk area since 1820. The unique soft cheese is processed at their state-of-the-art creamery in Portadown.

Mark Wright, commenting on the first deal with Fortnum and Mason, says: “This is an immensely important contract for us with one of the best known retailers in the world and one with a superb food hall.  It’s a business committed to featuring outstandingly tasty and original food and drink from around the world.

“We’ve been working closely with the store’s buying team and will taking part in sampling sessions to promote and sell the cheese to their customers from London and tourists from around the world. We are thrilled by what is a tremendous opportunity for us to reach a very discerning marketplace.

“It is fantastic to get the recognition from such a prestigious and upmarket retailer for all the hard work that goes into making our unique cheese. Our ancestors are part of our story. They have tilled the soil and helped to develop the farm into the place where the cows are eating the crops and producing the milk. We have complete traceability over what we do and that will always be the Ballylisk of Armagh way,” adds Mark.

The farming family has vast experience of producing the highest quality milk, which means Ballylisk has total control over its entire operation – from ‘farm to table’. Triple Rose is described by Mark as “a rich, decadent cheese made from pasteurised cow’s milk with added cream”.

The diversification into cheese production in 2015 followed an extensive period of market research to identify new business opportunities in premium dairy products.

Ballylisk is the only artisan cheesemaker in Northern Ireland with its own milk pool. Triple Rose cheese is now stocked in delis and farm shops across Northern Ireland and is on the tables at many top restaurants. Business has also been won from a specialist cheese retailer in Borough Market.

Founded as a grocery store in 1707, Fortnum and Mason’s reputation was built on supplying quality food, and has grown successfully. Though Fortnum and Mason has since developed into a successful department store, it continues to focus on stocking a variety of premium food and drink in store.