New Caribbean rum from íon Distillery!
“íon Distillery, Food NI member, has launched Northern Ireland’s first locally distilled Cuban-style Rum. The rum is included with new vodka and gin, all distilled ‘from scratch’ in Tyrone.”
íon Distillery…
íon Distillery is a new project, which officially launched on the 18th November. With a belief in simplicity, quality and innovation. íon Distillery produces a range of intriguing spirits influenced by nature and history.
Each bottle is hand-made in small batches and stone filtered.
Home of Ireland’s first 100% locally made craft rums well as a range of unique gins and vodkas.
íon Distilling produces all its spirits from scratch in their own distillery in County Tyrone.
Their Spirits…
All their spirits are made using water from their own artisan well, which is filtered through ancient volcanic rock that lies beneath their distillery.
Their rums are made with the finest Central American Molasses, using a purpose built Caribbean “Doubler-style” copper column still which is unique in Ireland/UK. They use authentic rum yeasts and age their spirit in bourbon barrels for a totally authentic, yet unique product.
Their vodkas are made in house in a dedicated hand made still from the finest wheat, rye and barley blends. It is distilled up to 10 times to create an exceptionally clean and unique spirit. Perfect to sip or as a great base for cocktails.
Finally their gins, using their own base spirit comes alive with the infusion of the finest botanicals sourced from around the world. Produced in a dedicated gin still, with subtle peppery notes and a dry citrus finish. The gin embodies their ethos perfectly – íon Distillery : Purity of Spirit
Their New Products…
The new spirits are the brainchild of Darren Nugent. Nugent owns and runs the successful Pokertree Craft Brewery in Tyrone. Pokertree Craft Brewery started in 2013. He launched the spirit distillery to help grow the overall business.
“We certainly have a good range of ales and stout which are popular especially in Northern Ireland and ROI. However, I saw an opportunity to grow the business faster by investing in distilling spirits.
I decided the development of the business would benefit substantially by distilling Northern Ireland’s very first Cuban style rum. While I’ve introduced spirits I will still continue to brew and develop the Pokertree beer range.
Market research indicated a growing demand for premium and different spirits produced here offering new taste profiles. All our spirits are distilled on-site here. They are all made from scratch,” he adds.
He’s invested in three copper pot stills and associated condensing columns in a new plant in the Tyrone village.
“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. I did not want to try to produce all of them on one. This is also why we’ve chosen the ‘Purity of Spirit’ streamline. The three stills represent a very significant investment for a small business. I believe íon Distillery is unique in Ireland in having separate stills for each spirit we produce,” he explains.
The Rum Still…
The still for the rum has a capacity of 3,000 litres. The Rum 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.
He readily admits that creating the three spirits has been “a steep learning curve”. “Rum is a complicated spirit that I’ve been researching for several years. There are very specific rules and techniques involved in its production. We distil the rum from the finest molasses from Central America using a purpose-built ‘Doubler’ copper column still, unique in the British Isles.
“Our focus on authenticity is carried forward in our use of rum yeasts. Our first rum is a spirit aged in bourbon barrels and featuring Caribbean spices to produce a spiced rum that’s whiskey casked and has very distinctive flavours and taste.
The Gin Still…
Smaller in size, compared to the Rum still – the Gin still has the capacity of 500 litres.
The gin is made from our own base spirit with the infusion of the finest botanicals sourced from around the world,” Darren says.
The Vodka Still…
Similar to the Gin still – the Vodka still has the same capacity of 500 litres.
The vodka is also distilled in-house in a dedicated hand-made still from the finest wheat, rye and barley blends. It is distilled up to 10 times to create an exceptionally clean and unique spirit – perfect to sip or as a great base for cocktails.
For more information about son Distillery – click here : http://www.iondistillery.com
