New Northern Irish 'seed to sip' vodka is already a gold star

Boatyard Distillery in Northern Ireland has launched a unique craft vodka.

Boatyard Vodka, the new 'seed-to-sip' vodka adds to the distillery's growing portfolio of award winning spirits - Boatyard Double Gin and Boatyard Old Tom Gin.

Boatyard Vodka, produced by the distillery based near Enniskillen in county Fermanagh, has already won a gold award at the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition 2018 within the first week of launch.

Joe McGirr, founder and chief executive of Boatyard Distillery, says: "We are really excited to finally bring this original vodka to the local and International market, after 18 months of work and development.

"Our vodka is the first 'seed to sip' wheat vodka in Ireland, made using organic Irish wheat from county Kildare in the Republic of Ireland. Our 'seed-to-sip' ethos enables us to trace the wheat used in each individual bottle back to the farmer and even the field in which it was grown.

"We are the only distillery in Ireland using organic Irish wheat. Our vodka takes six weeks to brew, ferment, distill and rest, all at our distillery on the shores of Lough Erne. We don't use harsh filtration on our spirit, we instead prefer to lock the flavour into the liquid rather than stripping it out.

"Our spent grain goes to local farmers who use it to feed their cows -the happiest cows in Fermanagh," he adds.

The Boatyard Distillery takes its name from a former boatyard that has been converted into a craft distillery overlooking the picturesque Lough Erne in Northern Ireland's Lakelands. It is one of the first distilleries in the world to be accessible to visitors by both land and water with the ethos of producing farm-to-bottle spirits in one of the most beautiful locations in the world.

The craft distillery is also developing a malt whiskey and was established in 2016 by Mr McGirr, who has vast experience in developing and marketing spirits.