Double Gold For Tyrone Distillery At Luxury Masters
One of Northern Ireland’s newest distilleries – Íon – based in the Tyrone countryside has won a highly impressive double honour at one of the world’s premier spirits competitions.
Winning Gold in the “Super Premium” category for two products; the company’s Curious Citrus Gin and Whiskey Cask Spiced Rum, at the first time of trying is a fantastic achievement for the distillery, which has been trading for little over 9 months.
The Spirits Business – Global Masters – is one of the world’s premier blind tasting competitions aimed at finding and rewarding the finest spirits from across the world.
Judged in London and assessed by a panel of leading industry figures each product was evaluated on nose, palate, appearance and overall balance. Only spirits receiving over 80 points from a possible 100 from each judge was awarded a coveted Gold medal.
Commenting on the awards head distiller Darren Nugent said: “This is a marvellous endorsement of the quality and outstanding flavours of our unique Whiskey Cask Spiced rum and Curiously Citrus gin.
“It’s also a tremendous boost for a distillery which has been in business for such a short time and will be of enormous benefit as we expand our marketing activities in export markets,” he adds.
His interest in rum is based on his passion for Cuba, especially Havana, the Caribbean island’s historic and quirky capital.
“All our spirits are distilled on-site in Carrickmore. They are all made entirely from scratch using completely traceable ingredients,” he continues.
He has three stainless steel and copper stills and associated condensing columns in the distillery. “I opted to invest in three separate stills for the rum, gin and vodka because I wanted to focus on the purity of each spirit and not try to produce all of them on one. This is also why we’ve chosen the ‘Purity of Spirit’ strapline for the range of spirits and have a dedicated still for each separate product.”
Each spirit is handcrafted in small batches using fresh water from the distillery’s own artesian well and are then filtered over volcanic rocks found in the depths around the distillery.
“Using volcanic rocks reflects our commitment to the locality. Carrickmore – An Charraig Mhór – is the Irish for big rock and is partly built on ancient rock formations dating back millions of years,” Darren adds.
“The rum is distilled in a purpose built Carribean-style ‘doubler’ still which distils the spirit twice in one run. Our focus on authenticity is carried forward in our use of rum yeasts. Our first rum is a spirit aged in bourbon barrels and Scotch Casks and feature a range of spices from across the world to produce a spiced rum that’s whiskey casked and has a range of rich and deeply distinctive flavours and taste.
“The gin is made from a wheat base spirit for smoothness with the infusion of the finest botanicals sourced from around the world,” he adds.
The Luxury Masters aims to reward those brands in the super-premium and ultra-premium sectors.
