Berry, Berry Nice!

Northern Irelandartisan liqueur company, Boozeberries is celebrating its Zesty Blackcurrant Liqueur achieving a Silver in the cassis category of The Liqueur Masters 2010 Awards, which are run by The Spirits Business magazine.

Commenting on the achievement, Barbara Hughes, Sales Director, said: "This is a real accolade for us. Boozeberries is a small company making hand-crafted liqueurs. In The Liqueur Masters 2010 Awards we were competing against global drinks companies who are established liqueur specialists, so for us to win a Silver is a really significant accolade and a testament to the quality of our product."

Boozeberries was originally founded in County Carlow about six years ago and had quietly build-up a reputation in the Irish market - a proven testing ground for so many brands that are now global, including Bailey's. Barbara Hughes and her husband Stuart, who are based in Dromore, County Down, bought the business in May this year and are actively seeking to grow their distribution in throughout the UK, Ireland and further afield. This recognition from the international drinks industry is a major boost to their expansion goals.

Explaining what makes Boozeberries so special, Barbara continued: "We have three flavours of Boozeberries - Zesty Blackcurrant, Wild Blueberry and Wild Cranberry. The blackcurrants and blueberries are grown in Ireland - the blueberries are actually growing wild in the Wicklow Mountains, where they are known as bilberries and are slightly smaller than the North American blueberry.

"Production is done for us by a specialist liqueur company in Ireland to our own unique recipes, using a mellow Irish grain spirit. Each bottle is hand-made - berries are placed in the bottle and topped with spirit. The bottled is then corked, sealed and left to infuse for about four months. During this time the spirit takes on the colour, aroma and intense flavour of the berries in a totally natural way.

"Unlike so many competitor berry liqueurs which are made from puréed fruit, syrups or other flavourings, what really sets Boozeberries apart is the fact that we use whole fruit, which remains in the bottle. Not only does this add to the appearance of the liqueur in the bottle or glass, as well to the flavour, all the berries are edible, which definitely adds to the experience of drinking Boozeberries," stressed Barbara.

Delicious on their own as an after-dinner liqueur or with ice as a pre-dinner aperitif, Boozeberries are hugely versatile and can be included in cocktails, mixed with Champagne, Prosecco or white wine and even as part of a dessert - they are simply divine poured over ice cream! As they are also virtually fat-free, they also have great appeal with ladies watching their weight!

With an ABV of 17%, Boozeberries retail in the off-trade at around £12.99 / €16.99 for 350ml. The product range has been recommended by John and Sally McKenna's highly respected and influential Bridgestone Guide for the last four years.

Part of The Spirit Masters series of awards run by The Spirits Business, the Liqueur Masters Awards have quickly become one of the most respected and high profile blind tasting competitions in the drinks industry, attracting a huge number of entries from all over the world. Judges are completely neutral, this year's panel including Nushi Surtani, correspondent to The Spirits Business, Dale Sklar, Director of Wine & Spirit International Ltd, and Paul Loebenberg, General Manager of The Refinery.