Northern Ireland's first distilled gin celebrates its fourth birthday

As Northern Ireland's first distilled gin celebrates its fourth birthday, we talk to David Boyd-Armstrong, who together with wife Fiona, created the prolific Shortcross Gin.
Northern Ireland's first distilled gin is celebrating its fourth birthdayNorthern Ireland's first distilled gin is celebrating its fourth birthday
Northern Ireland's first distilled gin is celebrating its fourth birthday

Husband and wife team David and Fiona Boyd-Armstrong opened Northern Ireland’s first award-winning craft distillery at Rademon Estate just outside Downpatrick in 2012, and two years later they created Shortcross Gin, their first small batch craft spirit.

It might be hard to believe but the duo, who also live at the County Down Distillery, “It’s our home as well as our workplace,” laughs David, have only been creating their popular gin for four years.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The first gin to be distilled in Northern Ireland, Shortcross Gin has won several high-profile awards since its launch. The distillery has won over 27 high-profile industry awards, with the most recent highlight being a Gold medal at the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, which is widely considered to be the pinnacle of awards globally for the drinks industry.

Fiona and David Boyd-Armstrong unveil one of two new state-of-the-art new copper stills that have been installed at Rademon Estate Distillery in Crossgar, Co. Down as part of a major £2.5million redevelopment. The expansion of the distillerys Still House will treble production capacity, enabling Rademon to grow production volumes as demand for its award-winning Shortcross Gin grows globallyFiona and David Boyd-Armstrong unveil one of two new state-of-the-art new copper stills that have been installed at Rademon Estate Distillery in Crossgar, Co. Down as part of a major £2.5million redevelopment. The expansion of the distillerys Still House will treble production capacity, enabling Rademon to grow production volumes as demand for its award-winning Shortcross Gin grows globally
Fiona and David Boyd-Armstrong unveil one of two new state-of-the-art new copper stills that have been installed at Rademon Estate Distillery in Crossgar, Co. Down as part of a major £2.5million redevelopment. The expansion of the distillerys Still House will treble production capacity, enabling Rademon to grow production volumes as demand for its award-winning Shortcross Gin grows globally

David, 36, married his now-wife Fiona back in 2011, and have been together for 12 years. But fans of the prolific local tipple might be amused to hear Fiona voiced her craft-gin creating ambitions to David quite soon upon meeting, as David recalls, “I think for us, it was the opportunity of creating something no-one else had done that appealed to us so much. We created the first gin distillery in Northern Ireland, and we wanted to redefine what a Northern Irish gin could - or should - be.

“We just fell in love with the craft spirits movement and we believed we could do something special, something unique, and something which really showcased the best of home.”

Having quit their former high-flying careers, David and his new wife Fiona set out on their own. “The safety net was definitely cut, there was no Plan B!”, laughs David. “It was quite a bit of a culture shock, but I wouldn’t swap it for the world - it has been a fantastic journey.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“What really sets us apart is our attention to detail, the care that’s gone into it, the quality, and the materials.

Shortcross Wild Clover CoolerShortcross Wild Clover Cooler
Shortcross Wild Clover Cooler

“So much goes into each small batch. We take elderflowers and elderberries from the forest, wild clover from the lawn, and apples from the Walled Garden here. We hand distill, we hand-bottle, we wax and dip everything by hand. It’s a real labour of love, we don’t just flick a switch and it’s done. Each and every bottle is produced here in Northern Ireland in the Rademon Distillery.”

Whilst it may seem our famous Shortcross Gin has been around for more than four years, for David and Fiona, that is exactly the case.

Despite introducing David to the idea shortly after meeting, the self-confessed “gin-fanatics” had to embark upon years of research before pursuing their ambitions.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We did courses in the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in America, and lots of different hands-on courses. Whenever we commissioned the still, it took us about six months to actually develop our recipe, we took the time learning the trade and getting things right”, David explains.

Fiona and David Boyd-Armstrong unveil one of two new state-of-the-art new copper stills that have been installed at Rademon Estate Distillery in Crossgar, Co. Down as part of a major £2.5million redevelopment. The expansion of the distillerys Still House will treble production capacity, enabling Rademon to grow production volumes as demand for its award-winning Shortcross Gin grows globallyFiona and David Boyd-Armstrong unveil one of two new state-of-the-art new copper stills that have been installed at Rademon Estate Distillery in Crossgar, Co. Down as part of a major £2.5million redevelopment. The expansion of the distillerys Still House will treble production capacity, enabling Rademon to grow production volumes as demand for its award-winning Shortcross Gin grows globally
Fiona and David Boyd-Armstrong unveil one of two new state-of-the-art new copper stills that have been installed at Rademon Estate Distillery in Crossgar, Co. Down as part of a major £2.5million redevelopment. The expansion of the distillerys Still House will treble production capacity, enabling Rademon to grow production volumes as demand for its award-winning Shortcross Gin grows globally

“Going back 15 years, this was an idea Fiona had for a long, long time, well before we met. I just happen to have come along at the right time to help her realise the dream”, David adds modestly.

And despite the fact Shortcross is now Northern Ireland and Ireland’s “most awarded gin” , it almost didn’t come about after Fiona’s beloved dad initially turned down her suggestion of turning the family home at Rademon Estate into a distillery. “I think finally persistance paid off”, David laughs.

“We really set out to try and capture the smells, the aromas, and the face of Rademon Estate with Shortcross. We are surrounded by beautiful, lush gardens and fantastic, vibrant forests. We wanted to capture that wee taste of home and showcase it to the world.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And David, who together with wife Fiona is a huge champion of local produce, explained that the close-knit food and drink scene in Belfast provided invaluable support when they were starting out.

Shortcross Wild Clover CoolerShortcross Wild Clover Cooler
Shortcross Wild Clover Cooler

“The first places we went into were OX and James St South. On the day we launched, Niall McKenna gave us a push-out on social media, and it just exploded for us. People were like “woah there’s a Northern Irish gin, a local distillery, where can we get this, where is it made” and it just blew up for us and continued to snowball. It was simply unbelievable.

“The support of people locally has been key to growing and developing the business, people have been so supportive, it has been a fantastic journey”, David said. “We have such a passion for independent businesses here, and I certainly think our food and drink scene is one of the best in the world.”

Shortcross is now exported to locations globally including the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Scandinavia, North America, Middle East & Australia. David said, “We just feel like giddy schoolchildren, it still feels very surreal. We started this back in 2011 as an idea, and everyone thought we were crazy. It is just fantastic.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Recently we opened the Visitor Centre at the Distillery, we are really keen to see even more people through our doors to show them what we do. We also have a whiskey which has been maturing for the last two and a half years. We are a distillery at the end of the day, so there are so many possibilities, and no matter what we do, it is going to be a very exciting next four years.”