Founded in 2012 by husband and wife team Fiona and David Boyd-Armstrong, and located on the couple’s historic family estate just outside Downpatrick, County Down, the distillery's award-winning Shortcross Gin has made a big impact in the burgeoning craft spirits market since its launch. This summer, attention has turned to the launch of their aged offering. The first casks of their new small batch Irish whiskey have been sealed and production is now underway, with 100 barrels expected to be laid up within the first year.
“The research and development behind the creation of our Irish Whiskey has been extensive," said managing director Fiona Boyd-Armstrong. "We are proud to announce this project and that this will be amongst the first Irish Whiskeys to be distilled in Northern Ireland.”
All aspects of production for Rademon's new Irish malt whiskey, from grain to glass, will be performed on site, using water from the estate’s own well. The whiskey will be matured in a variety of casks, which the distillers hope will allow for new and innovative flavours and aromas.
“I am thrilled we have developed what I know will be a fantastic Irish Malt Whiskey and I’m greatly looking forward to August 2018 when we will be able to sample our first three year old Irish Malt Whiskey," said David Boyd-Armstrong, head distiller at Rademon Estate. "This style of whiskey is a personal favourite of mine due to the complex flavour profile and I feel it is under represented in the market.”
Parties interested in purchase or distribution of Rademon Estate Distillery’s first release can register their interest by emailing sales@shortcrossgin.com
Q&A with David & Fiona Boyd-Armstrong of Rademon Estate Distillery
Have you created any jobs and do you expect to create more?
o We are expanding our team from four to eight, with four new posts to be filled imminently and a further two in the pipeline, which will bring our team to 10.
Have you seen sales increase month on month since you started?
o Yes, sales have risen month on month, and we are seeing increased interest and demand for Shortcross Gin in all of our markets.
Where is Shortcross Gin currently available?
o Shortcross Gin is available in all good independent off licenses as well as high end hotels, bars and clubs across the province of Ireland. Having expanded our UK network to include Scotland and England, we have recently secured export orders to Holland, Spain and France.
And which new countries/markets do you plan to export to with this expansion?
o We expect further expansion in European, North America, Asia, Australia - worldwide markets.
Where are most of your sales coming from?
o Ireland at present but we expect our sales into European markets to expand this year.
There aren’t many Irish gins, but there are lots of Irish whiskeys. Why go into whiskey?
o As the business develops we are seeking to develop our skills and create new products. Entering the Whiskey market allows us to become part of the fastest growing spirits category globally and provides an exciting opportunity for us to expand the sales of our products.
o The current Irish Whiskey offering is dominated by Pot Still and Grain whiskies. To differentiate ourselves we are creating an Irish Malt Whiskey, a style of Irish Whiskey that is under represented in the market.
Are there lots of Irish whiskeys?
o There are less than ten working distilleries in Ireland, many of which produce a brand for third parties who are a brand and not a distillery, this is in comparison to Scotland who have 120 whiskey distilleries. Irish whiskey as a sector grew exponentially last year; it was the fastest growing spirit in the world.
How long before you’re able to actually sell your whiskey?
o A minimum of three years and a day. However, we will only release our Whiskey at a point where we feel it is ready to enter the market place. This means it could be 3, 5 of 7 years before our first release. This is an aspect that makes creating our own whiskey very exciting.
What is going to make your whiskey different to the other Irish whiskey distilleries that have started up?
o We will be the third distillery to be operational in Northern Ireland in over 125 years. Our distillery will produce small batch hand-crafted whiskey and will be estate; it is our intention to use grain from our own estate.
o We are creating an Irish Malt Whiskey, a style of Irish Whiskey that is under represented on the market.
o We are also exploring the possibilities of using cask varieties that will aid us in creating new flavour profiles.
It’s a crowded category, do you think you’ll be able to compete with big brands?
o We feel the market is not crowded, but is actually under supplied at the moment, thus creating an ideal scenario for new market entrants. We aim to build upon our reputation for creating the award-winning Shortcross Gin to develop a new and exciting Irish Malt Whiskey.
