Wizard deal in Oz for Spirited Drinks

Spirited Drinks, the Northern Irish producer of original berry liqueurs, has won its first business in Australia for its award winning Boozeberries brand from an initial contact on google, the internet search engine, and then through facebook.

The company, which is based in Dromore, County Down, has shipped a full pallet of its three-strong range of the handcrafted artisan liqueurs to Kestrel Industries, based in Melbourne.

The business came as a result of a conversation on the social media site initiated by Kestrel's Sebastian Salamone who was searching for a supplier of artisan liqueurs for the huge Australian market.

Barbara Hughes, commercial director of Spirited Drinks, which makes Boozeberries and also Ruby Blue for cocktail mixologists, says: "We then exchanged emails with Sebastian and agreed to send him some samples of Boozeberries.

"Kestrel subsequently came back with a small order of liqueurs which they wanted to test market at a major food and drink show in Australia. Response from visitors to their stand was extremely positive and this led them to place much more substantial repeat business.

"We are delighted to have them as our first distributor in the Asia Pacific region, a new and potentially immensely important market for us. It follows other recent successes in Sweden, the Netherlands and Turkey.

"As a result of the agreement with Kestrel Industries, ourpremium liqueurs will be sold through retail channels and also on the shelves of cocktail bars and lounges in many parts of Australia.

"We aim to build on this success by exploring opportunities in other markets throughout Asia Pacific such as Hong Kong. As the contract with Kestrel shows, social media offers a smaller company tremendous scope to grow sales even in distant markets such as Australia."

Barbara Hughes formed the business in May 2010 with husband Stuart to develop and market internationally the range of handcrafted liqueurs. The small company has gained a series of international awards for its unique products using cranberries, blackcurrants and blueberries in an Irish grain spirit. The drinks are marketed as Wild Cranberries, Zesty Blackcurrant and Wild Blueberries.

Awards won by the company include gold and silver at the Wines and Spirits Wholesalers of America, (WSWA), tasting competition in Orlando, Florida and in the UK Great Taste Awards.

The liqueurs are naturally enhanced with the infusion of whole wild fragrant berries and are handcrafted in small batches.