Northern Irish Boatyard Double Gin in export breakthrough

Boatyard Double Gin, the recently launched Northern Irish craft gin, has won its first export sales. The small company, based at Enniskillen in county Fermanagh has begun supplying the gin to retailers in the Republic of Ireland.

The distillery, founded by Joe McGirr, a former chief operating officer of London Distillery Company and an executive at Glenmorangie, has signed with the Celtic Whiskey Shop in Dublin to distribute the gin in the Republic. In addition, one of the Republic's biggest off licence chains, O'Brien's, is now selling the gin in its 41-strong of retail shops across the Republic as well as online.

Mr McGirr, commenting on the export success, says: "This is tremendously encouraging business for just coming as it does within two months of the launch of our unique gin. We'll be pushing ahead with plans to grow sales in the Republic, the United Kingdom and other key markets."

The export breakthrough comes as the company has announced a global design award in recognition of the unique branding of its Boatyard Double Gin, the first in a portfolio of spirits planned by the small distillery on the picturesque shores of Lough Erne, Northern Ireland's Lakelands.

It was awarded the Master Award for gin at the Spirits Design Masters 2016, part of the internationally renowned Spirit Masters series.

Mr McGirr adds the award acknowledged the care and craftsmanship that had gone into the gin's signature packaging.

"Boatyard Double Gin is the essence of this part of Fermanagh. Organic wheat spirit goes through a double contact distillation process using botanicals which have been foraged and selected for an exceptional flavour journey," he says.

"We wanted special branding to reflect the uniqueness of our product. The labels used on our bottles are printed on a traditional 1960's letterpress and the font we chose was actually inspired by an old receipt I found from the first tractor my father ever bought, giving it an authentic and craft feel.

"A lot of time, care and thought went into the branding of this super-premium product, so we are delighted to be included in the same conversations as some of the most established brands in the world, especially considering that we only launched Boatyard Double Gin in September.

"I am absolutely thrilled that we have won this award and I hope it is the first of many for the Boatyard Distillery."

The Spirits Design Masters, organised by the Spirits Business, have been running for four years now. Each entry was judged according to its category by an independent panel chaired by Christiaan Huynwn, managing director of Cartils design agency.