Serial entrepreneur on runway to success with memorable craft gin

He’s also setting the pace in the creation of a novel beer, Foyster, in his role as the founder and Master Brewer at the multi-award winning Walled City Brewery in the city’s Ebrington Square.

Foyster is a unique Irish stout which is the first product to use the prized Lough Foyle Flat Oysters and has been created in association with local beer marketer Connor Doherty. The creamy stout joins an existing portfolio of popular drinks that reflect the city’s rich heritage, such as Boom that’s based on a recipe dating back to 1688, and an original tipple influenced by Derry Girls, the hugely popular comedy series.

The new gin, however, is his most inspirational and ambitious innovation to date and one also designed to support the area’s tourism growth. This is because he’s named the new gin in honour Amelia Earhart, the plucky US aviation pioneer who touched down in a farm field at Ballyarnett back in 1932 after flying in an icy cockpit from Newfoundland in Canada. She had planned to land in Paris but technical problems and bad weather forced to make an emergency landing in that bumpy field near Derry/Londonderry.

James (41) explains: “Flying solo from Newfoundland in Canada to land in a field at Ballyarnett was a tremendous achievement by any measure and, of course, a world ‘first’ by a woman aviator. We are now celebrating Amelia’s stunning achievement in the launch of the city’s first craft gin. While Derry was once home of Watt’s, Ireland’s biggest whiskey distillery in the late 1880s to its closure in 1921 following a bitter strike by workers over pay and conditions, gin was never distilled here…until now.”

Amelia Earhart, he continues, is still remembered fondly in Derry/Londonderry and also by the thousands of Americans who visit the city annually and are still intrigued by the mystery of her disappearance on flight around the world.

“She was a courageous pioneer and was just 34 when she touched down here,” James says. “We believe that American visitors, other tourists as well as locals, who

respect her remarkable achievements, will love to raise a glass of our unique Earhart Gin to toast her inspirational story and her historic connection with Derry. I’d also love to see a museum here to honour her.”

Another novel feature of the gin is the botanicals harvested from the field where the flyer touched down. These include elderflower, hawthorn and purple saxiphrage – the official flower of Derry/Londonderry - which are blended into the gin with the traditional juniper during the distillation process.

“I believe we’ve succeeded in our aim to create a distinctive, authentic and memorable Derry gin with as wide an appeal as possible. In addition, we are reinforcing its appeal to customers by creating a number of unique cocktails which also mark Amelia Earhart’s achievement. These Include Little Red Bus, Amelia’s nickname for her flying machine. It’s a version of the traditional Bloody Mary cocktail. We’ve also taste tested these with our focus groups and received a very positive feedback.

“There’s also Newfoundland Love, a signature cocktail featuring local apples for a really refreshing drink. The cocktails are aimed at female drinkers in particular and are also designed to enhance and celebrate the whole Amelia Earhart experience, her connections with Derry and the mystery surrounding her sad disappearance in 1937.”

A native of Derry/Londonderry and a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, James extended his existing and successful brewery, the first in the city for over a century, and visitor centre to accommodate a new pot still for gin.

“Gin distilling is a logical development for us because the processes are similar,” he explains. “We’ve also been holding gin supper classes at the brewery. They are proving extremely popular with local people.”

James and wife Louise formed the successful brewery in 2015. It also operates a multi-award winning restaurant and a successful Homebrew Academy, the first in Ireland. James, a father of two young children, set up the craft brewery on the back of his extensive experience as a qualified brewer with one of Ireland’s biggest brewers.

As well as his contribution to brewing and hospitality and now distilling, James is an active supporter of other entrepreneurial enterprises in the city and has encouraged smart ideas in food and hospitality. Another entrepreneurial initiative involved turning the use of spent grain, a waste from the brewing process that is rich in protein and fibre, into a granola product and the subsequent small company, Grainola Goddess, that’s run by Jill McKillop, his sister and an experienced chef. The venture offers a range of novel toasted granolas which are proving popular in the city.