Food NI members successful in Irish Whiskey Masters
Three Food NI members have achieved outstanding success in the prestigious Irish Whiskey Masters. The successful members were: Hinch Distillery in Ballynahinch; Copeland Distillery in Donaghadee; and Rademon Estate Distillery in Crossgar.
The companies were among whiskeys from distilleries from across the island blind tasted by panel of expert judges.
Copeland in Donaghadee won silver for its Merchant’s Quay blend.
Hinch Distillery, Ballynahinch won two masters in the New Make category, Double Distilled and Triple Distilled and golds for its Small Batch Bourbon Cask; 5-Year-old Double Wood; 5-Year-Old Madeira Cask Finish; 15-Year-Old Sherry Cask Finish Craft and Casks Imperial Stout Finish; and Peated Small Batch.
Rademon in Crossgar won golds for its Irish Whiskey Bonding Company Grafter and Chancer and Distiller’s Duo.
The Irish whiskey category, which has been a tremendous success story, continues to develop strongly especially in international markets. It’s an industry which has seen remarkable growth in a relatively short period of time. In 2013, for instance, there were only four distilleries in the country, including one in Northern Ireland, Old Bushmills in Co Antrim, but 10 years later this has expanded to 45 in operation and more planned. There are now around 12 in the North and many are exporting worldwide, especially Europe and other areas.
Emerging markets, furthermore, reported double-digit growth for Irish whiskey, including Nigeria (up by 59%), Poland (up by 21%), Singapore (up by 55%) and South Korea (up by 11%).
Old Bushmills in Co. Antrim, now widely acclaimed as the world’s oldest licensed distillery, emerged as the overall ‘Master’ for its unique 30-year-old single malt.
The innovation-led distillery also collected major awards for other products including the Black Bush premium blend, the 21-year-old single malt, 25-year-old single malt and the 16-year-old single malt.
Irish whiskey category, which has been a tremendous success story, continues to develop strongly especially in international markets. It’s an industry which has seen remarkable growth in a relatively short period of time.
In 2013, for instance, there were only four distilleries in the country, including one in Northern Ireland, Old Bushmills in Co Antrim, but 10 years later this has expanded to 45 in operation and more planned. There are now around 12 in the North and many are exporting worldwide, especially Europe and other areas.
Emerging markets, furthermore, reported double-digit growth for Irish whiskey, including Nigeria (up by 59%), Poland (up by 21%), Singapore (up by 55%) and South Korea (up by 11%).
