Top Irish accolade for Jawbox Gin

Jawbox, the Northern Irish gin, has been named Drink of the Year 2016 by William Barry, editor of the influential John and Sally McKennas' Guides.

The guides review the best places to eat, shop and stay on the island of Ireland. Barry also pinpoints the quality of Hannan Meats' salt aged rib eye beef as his reason for choosing the Barking Dog in Belfast as his best restaurant in Northern Ireland.

Praising Jawbox Belfast Dry Gin, Barry recommends that it be enjoyed with ginger ale, another beverage developed in the city.

Jawbox, a premium, single estate gin distilled in Northern Ireland from locally-grown barley was launched in early 2016. It was recently listed by Marks and Spencer for almost 200 stores across the UK and has been exported to France, Germany and Spain. It is expected to enter the US market in early 2017.

The gin was created by Gerry White, an experienced publican in Belfast, in a tie-up with Echlinville Distillery at Kircubbin, county Down.

Jawbox takes its name from the large metal kitchen sinks which were a feature in Belfast homes in the Victorian era.

The product design also features a Victorian-style medicine bottle and branding. White worked on the recipe, which features among its botanicals wild heather foraged from the Black Mountain overlooking Belfast, for the gin for over six years.

White says the gin has "a juniper berry profile, and a more classic flavour than some of the other small-batch varieties currently on the market".

"My aim was to revive the gin making tradition in Belfast that dates back to the 19th century. It has its roots deep in the history and traditions of the city, and I want to see it on sale in Britain, the Republic of Ireland, other parts of Europe and the US," he adds.

A veteran of the pub trade in Northern Ireland for 30 years, he's been at the helm of the award-winning John Hewitt bar in Belfast for the past 10 years.