Tyrone’s Symphonia in tune with spirits of Christmas at City Hall
Shoppers at the popular Belfast Christmas Market at the City Hall are enjoying samples of unique range of spirits from Moy, Co Tyrone, including innovative Armagh apple gin and rum, distilled by an experienced scientist.
The visitors are experiencing award-winning products developed by Dr Ulrich Dyer, founder and owner of Woodlab Distillery, home of Symphonia Spirits, and his team braving the winter freeze from a small stand at the front of the historic building. The distillery is pioneering a unique process of distillation that’s environmentally friendly and is a Food NI member.
The spirits are now widely available here, including from Tesco stores, as well as in the Republic of Ireland and further afield. His unique apple and rum gins also offer a new outlet for Bramley apples from orchards in Armagh. The apples are the only variety to have gained EU name protection.
Dr Dyer has succeeded in revolutionising the production of craft spirits here from his own professional background and through researching the world of luxury perfumery.
He has taken an inspired approach to capturing the wonderful flavours and fragrances of local botanicals in the most eco-efficient way to produce widely acclaimed spirits with a sustainable twist.
“The Christmas market is a great way to reach many thousands of shoppers and to explain to them what’s different about our portfolio of handcrafted spirits,” says Dr Dyer. “Of course it’s a bit chilly, but the chat with shoppers keeps us warm and busy. Business has been brisk.
“It’s an opportunity to explain to them how I approached the distillation process from my background as a scientist. I used my knowledge of the structure and properties of molecules to create a new and more sustainable way to distil craft gin, and rum,” he adds.
A former Harvard academic, Dr Dyer had successful career in the pharmaceutical industry and worked in the area of anti-viral medicines, helping to come up with treatments for diseases such as HIV and influenza.
A craft distillery, which has introduced a new skill to the predominantly rural community in Co Tyrone, Woodlab doesn’t have a significant marketing budget of larger enterprises, grasping every opportunity to reach out to potential customers at markets and other outdoor events across Northern Ireland. Such activities also support the listings by major retailers led by Tesco, an enthusiastic supporter of local distilleries and breweries.
Symphonia combines spirits, style and sustainability, he continues. A producer’s licence enables Dr Dyer and his small team to promote and sell the spirits at shows such as the City Hall market and from their visitor centre at the small distillery. He also runs a successful gin school there for visitors and tourists and an extensive warehouse.
The company was formed in 2016 by Dr Dyer after 30 years’ experience as a respected chemist. The company moved to the new distillery in Moy after outgrowing converted premises at his home nearby in Benburb, Co Tyrone.
The new distillery gave the entrepreneur greater scope to invest time and other resources in his science-led development of spirits using a unique process based on cold distillation and microwave extraction technology. These techniques help to ensure that the rich yet delicate flavours of the local botanicals, including apples from nearby growers, in gin production are extracted efficiently and preserved in the spirits.
He uses rotary technology proven to be the most efficient in terms of energy use. It’s the most environmentally friendly process because only around a fifth of the energy required for traditional distilling is used in rotary evaporation and the microwave process.
Woodlab, he continues, is “the only distillery in the world using these combined techniques”. “The technology is based on my scientific research in the international pharmaceutical industry on new product development,” he adds.
Accolades have flowed for the spirits. Symphonia Dry Gin, for example, was named Champion of Champions in the Irish Gin Awards 2019, a remarkable achievement for such a small business. Other international and national awards have followed including a silver medal in the International Wine and Spirit Competition, and two stars in the UK Great Taste Awards.
The small batch distillery currently produces three handcrafted gins and an apple rum with botanicals from the area. They are Symphonia dry gin, Symphonia Irish apple gin, Symphonia raspberry liqueur and Irish apple rum. “I was especially keen to use apples from orchards close to the distillery in Armagh,” he explains. The Bramley was an obvious choice, and we believe we’ve created something different in our unique Irish apple gin. It’s become a popular choice with lovers of a refreshing gin,” he adds.
