Three Golds For Northern Ireland’s Shortcross In Gin Masters 2021
Shortcross Gin from Rademon Estate Distillery in Northern Ireland won three golds and a silver in the annual Gin Masters 2021.
The family-owned distillery, located at Crossgar in county Down, gained golds for its original Shortcross Gin in the Ultra-Premium category; for its Cask Aged Gin in the Cask Aged Gin category; and for its Rosie’s Garden Gin in the Pink Gin category. The company also won silver for its Shortcross Gin Angel’s Edition in Ultra-Premium.
Shortcross, a Food NI member company, was the first craft gin produced in Northern Ireland in over a century. It was launched by husband and wife team David and Fiona Boyd Armstrong in 2012. The gin has since gained a host of international awards for quality and innovation. Shortcross is now on sale in over 30 global markets. The distillery is also poised to launch a new single malt whiskey.
There was a silver too for Belfast Artisan Gin produced by the Belfast Artisan Distillery in Newtownabbey, county Antrim in the Super Premium category.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on gin sales in the on-trade, the spirit’s profile has gone from strength to strength in the off-trade.
Retailers in the UK experienced a 30 percent spike in gin sales in the 12 months to 27 March 2021, as the categoryreached £1.3 billion – equal to 80 million bottles.
Flavoured gin has been a growing subcategory in recent years – and there was no slowing down for the sector during the same period.
Sales of flavoured gin soared by 37 percent, meaning around 30 million bottles were snapped up over the year. Flavoured gin now accounts for approximately 40 percent of the total gin market by both volume and value, according to the WSTA, and its market share is only expected to go in one direction: up.
Miles Beale, chief executive of the WSTA, says: “Our latest gin numbers underline that reports of gin’s demise as the ‘go-to’ spirit are wrong. Despite the on-trade representing many of our great British distillers’ ‘shop window’, and a great place for Britons to try new and exciting tipples, hospitality’s closure hasn’t dampened our enthusiasm to enjoy the vast array of gins now on the market.
“Sales of gin have never been this high in our shops and supermarkets before – but this is encouraging news for our reawakening hospitality industry, too – some of these sales are certain to shift over to pubs, bars and restaurants.”
