Northern Ireland distillery shines in 2025 Drinks International Brands Report with double gin and vodka making global impact

A new year and a new Drinks International Brands Report has just been launched, providing an insight into the buying habits and drinking trends across the world’s best bars.

In a significant win for Irish distilling, Boatyard Distillery in County Fermanagh has secured a prominent place on the global spirits stage, with Boatyard’s Double Gin ranking as the second most trending gin worldwide, while Boatyard’s Vodka has made a strong debut on the best-selling vodka brands list for 2025.

The Brands Report is an annual celebration of spirits that may not yet be dominating the sales charts but are rapidly gaining traction in bars around the world. These brands have become favorites through word of mouth or bartender recommendations and are often poised to transition from "trending" to "bestselling" as consumer curiosity grows into consistent demand.

The recognition for Boatyard Distillery is a proud moment for the team.

Declan McGurk, commercial director at Boatyard Distillery, expressed his excitement over the achievement: “It’s thrilling to me and the team that Boatyard’s Double Gin, born and made in Fermanagh, is being chosen by bar professionals internationally as the number 2 trending gin in the world.

"The senior management team at Boatyard have all worked behind some incredible, award-winning bars and we have always believed that a premium spirit needs to have approval from the bartending community – they need to feel confident recommending it to their customers, using it in cocktails and know their drinks offering is bolstered by simply having it behind the bar.

"To gain this seal of approval on a global scale is a wonderful way to start the year.”

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The Drinks International Brands Report surveys 100 top-level bars across 33 countries from Europe, Asia and Mexico to Canada, the USA, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East who have featured in recent editions of The World’s 50 Best Bars and Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards, plus regional and national awards such as the Class Bar awards.

The Brands Report is now in its 16th year and is the most anticipated piece of research of the year by Drinks International.

Each year, as well as adapting the geographical spread of those bars surveyed, Drinks International ensures a percentile of the participants is rotated to ensure they obtain as fair and accurate a portrait of the global bar scene as possible, and the brands it’s selling.