Wayne’s historic ginger ale fizzes from deal with drinks industry ‘giant’
Artisan producer Longbridge Drinks has won business with one of the country’s biggest distributor of a wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
The business collaboration, described by Wayne Adair, founder of east Belfast-based Longbridge, as “an exciting breakthrough” for the small producer, has seen Tennent’s NI adding Belfast Ginger Ale to its extensive portfolio for local hospitality and retail clients.
Longbridge has also seen sales of its Belfast ginger ale in Britain spiral upwards following the beverage being featured on television by Andy Clarke, the popular food and drink writer and broadcaster, in a special on old ‘wartime drinks’.
“The tremendous coverage on television has increased awareness in Britain, a market we are keen to grow sales in, of our ginger ale and has led to a significant rise in our online orders. It came as a very pleasant surprise and one we really do appreciate,” says Wayne.
Wayne continues: “We revived Belfast ginger ale almost a decade ago and it’s proved an outstandingly successful mixer with whiskey, especially Irish whiskey, and other spirits.
“The ale was invented in Belfast in the 1800s by a Canadian pharmacist named John McLaughlin. He was in the city on summer work experience with Grattan & Co, one of the largest producers of mineral waters for both home and international markets.
Belfast had a thriving industry producing premium minerals back then.
McLaughlin subsequently returned to his homeland to form ‘Canada Dry’, a ginger ale which became the global market leader,” he adds.
Belfast companies, Wayne explains, “continued to develop and export ginger ale particularly to the US during the 1920s, selling millions of gallons of the drink during the controversial Prohibition of alcohol”.
“The end of the US constitutional ban on alcohol in 1933 saw a sharp decline in sales for these companies, and most of them went out of business,” he says.
“Our Belfast Ginger Ale has been a tremendous success with smaller stores and at markets such as St George’s in Belfast, where we’ve had a stall at weekends since the redevelopment and reopening of the food and drink venue in May 1999. The
agreement with Tennent’s NI is another stage, albeit a hugely important one, in the rejuvenation of Belfast Ginger Ale,” he adds.
The leading supplier of premium drinks in Northern Ireland, Tennent’s NI has a comprehensive range of drinks for bars, hotels, restaurants and off-licences.
The line-up includes major brands such as Tennent’s, Magner’s Irish Cider, Heverlee, Estrella, Corona, Budweiser, and Bud Light. A local beer producer, Whitewater Brewery in Castlewellan, also features in the list.
The ginger ale is made from carbonated water, sugar, lime juice, extract of ginger, natural ginger flavour, natural caramel, and ascorbic acid. It is ready to drink by itself or as a mixer with a tipple of gin or whiskey.
As well as Belfast Ginger Ale, Tennent’s is also embracing other Longbridge premium mixers such as its unique Belfast Raspberry and Rose, described by Wayne as a “liquid version of Turkish Delight”, and Belfast Tonic Water.
Raspberry and Rose is made in small batches from natural botanical flavours and pure rose oil. It is the perfect balance of fruity and floral.
A superb match with gin or vodka, it also stands on its own as a delicious non-alcoholic drink. Belfast Tonic Water was developed and launched in response to customer requests for a premium local tonic to drink with gin, vodka or on its own. It proved to be an outstanding success for the small company.
Longbridge Drinks was formed in 2017 by Wayne, an experienced producer of craft minerals under the successful Papas Minerals brand. Belfast Ginger Ale, its first product, was launched a year later.
Wayne brought his knowledge of and passion for historic minerals - under the Papas brand – such as Original Ginger Wine, Dark Clove Cordial, Cloudy Lemonade, and Traditional Elderflower to the development of Longbridge Drinks as a Papas
subsidiary.
Fascinated by the history of the city and the production of soft drinks in particular, Wayne researched the development of Belfast Ginger Ale and decided to breathe new life into the lost local beverage that disappeared around a century ago.
A further example of his love of local history, Wayne, who grew up in Bangor, took the Longbridge identity from a huge bridge spanning the river Lagan from 1688 to 1841. Almost a mile in length, Long Bridge was once the longest on the British Isles.
“The old Long Bridge was an awesome structure,” he continues. “It had 24 arches, was very narrow, and had no footways. Weakened by artillery fire, part of the bridge collapsed into the Lagan. That was in 1692,” he adds. It was eventually replaced by
the Queen’s Bridge in January 1843, named in honour of Queen Victoria who opened it.