It’s a gin party and everyone is invited. Yes, find a space at the table because when it comes to Irish gin, we’re all getting in on the celebrations. Paired with sprigs of thyme, basil leaves or raspberries, topped with Poachers tonic or Fevertree, even sipping it neat, gin is the drink du jour.

It’s also going to be a key focus at the Burren Food Festival, which is taking place this weekend. Food and drinks writer Leslie Williams is hosting an Irish gin talk where the audience will sample and hear the stories behind Blackwater Gin, Dingle Gin, Bertha’s Revenge, Drumshambo Gunpowder Gin, Shortcross Gin, Boatyard Gin, Sliabh Liag Gin and Dublin Gin.

“Gone are the days when you walk into a bar and order a gin and tonic, only to be met with the default Cork’s Dry Gin and Schwepps tonic,” says Leslie. “Now it’s what type of gin, what brand of tonic? And we have great choice. Back in 2015, there were only three Irish gin distillers in the country – now there are over a dozen Irish gins.

“Many of these companies could see this trend forming in the States and the UK and now are riding on the crest of the wave. Of course, the craft beer industry opened doors for the gin industry as well. People want to try different beers, different flavours and this experimentation has transferred to gin”

Supporting local is also a factor says Leslie.

“People want to taste the flavours of the locality and as many Irish gin producers are foraging botanicals from the area, it means you can sample the fuschia of Kerry and the wild woodruff of Cork.”

Ahead of the Burren Food Festival, we spoke to four gin companies who really have people talking.

Blackwater Distillery

Rising on the Cork-Kerry border, flowing east to Waterford and into Cappoquin before flowing past the distillery and into the sea at Youghal, the river Blackwater and its crisp water serves as the inspiration and namesake to Blackwater Distillery and their range of gins.

Founded by Peter Mulryan and Kieran Curtin, these guys have made a name for themselves, especially with their blush pink strawberry gin.

Kieran says: “Our original idea was to make whiskey but as it has to mature for at least three years, it became more of a long-term project. In the meantime, we are having a lot of fun with gin. Our first pursuit was the No 5 Blackwater and with that we were really going for a London dry gin style.

“We weren’t trying to reinvent the wheel, more we wanted a modern twist on a classic. It was really well received, beating Hendrick’s and Bombay Sapphire in a blind taste test at the IWSC International Wine and Spirits competition in 2015.”

One of their newest ventures is Wexford strawberry gin. Good gin, real gin is quite simply summer in a glass and what defines the taste of Irish summer better than Wexford strawberries? This is a gin rather than a gin liquer – it’s not sickly sweet. Instead, the strawberries are used as a botanical and you’ll also pick up notes of rosehip and blackcurrant with a slightly jammy strawberry scent on the nose. Pair with Schwepps tonic, which isn’t very floral, to let the flavours of the gin speak for themselves.

Dingle Gin

One of the first on the scene, the team behind Dingle Gin are part of the Porterhouse group, who have been independently producing craft beer for years. The decision to progress to spirits in 2012 was largely focused on whiskey but, again, given the longer maturation time, gin and vodka were first off the bat.

Master distiller Michael Walsh says: “We didn’t get into gin just to have an immediate cashflow for the company. We could see it was trendy and growing in popularity and we knew if we could make a premium gin, we would also set the bar high and build our reputation for when our whiskey hit the market. It has certainly put us in the right direction as our whiskey is already eagerly anticipated.

“Many gins use oriental botanicals as their focus but we really wanted to showcase the local botanicals, really give people a taste of the Kerry landscape. So we use rowan berry from the mountain ash trees, fuchsia, bog myrtle, hawthorn and heather. When it’s being distilled, it passes through a flavour basket in the neck of the still to really infuse the flavours.”

Bertha’s Revenge

Big Bertha was the oldest living cow in the world. From Sneem, she was 48 years old when she died in 1993, having given birth to 29 calves. She even made it into the Guinness Book of Records. So she was a pretty good omen when setting up a gin company and given that Justin Green and Antony Jackson from Ballyvolane House were using whey as their spirit base to create the first Irish milk gin, she was the perfect fit.

Justin explains the reason behind setting up Bertha’s Revenge.

“It really was to diversify our business here in Ballyvolane House. We were trying to keep the show on the road, hosting weddings and offering glamping, but running a country house hotel really is a seasonal business and we needed another avenue to secure the long-term future of Ballyvolane House.

“We had been watching international food and drink trends and could really see the gin market taking off. For example, in the UK there were 50 gin distillers in 2015. Now there are over 300 distillers. For the first time in history they have surpassed the whiskey makers, so we knew it would be an interesting venture.

“The thing is though while myself and Anthony had lots of experience in drinking gin, we didn’t quite have experience in making gin. We went to enrol in a course in the UK but it was booked out for the next four years. So we started working with Peter Mulryan in Blackwater Distillery who was a huge help.”

The guys certainly got it right because after taking a sip, you’ll find this gin has a lot of depth.

“It’s certainly complex and the quality of the whey gives it a more rich and creamy feel which carries the spiced botanicals really well. You’ll detect notes of citrus, cumin and cardamom as well as cinnamon and cloves. However, we also forage around Cork and west Waterford and you’ll find elderflower flavours as well as that of sweet woodruff, which is a little star-shaped leaf with a delicate white flower and it tastes like almonds when dried.”

Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin

From the curious mind of PJ Rigney, Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin is slow distilled by hand with oriental botanicals and gunpowder tea at The Shed Distillery in Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim – the first distillery in Connacht in 101 years. PJ, a serial entrepreneur, has been at the forefront of the branded drinks sector for more than 30 years, working with Gilbey’s, C&C and Baileys Irish Cream during its formative years. All this experience has led to a gin that really is something quite different.

PJ says: “Gunpowder tea is a green tea from the eastern province of Zejiang, China, that has been slowly dried, the delicate leaves then carefully rolled into shiny pellets. The flavour is bold and bright with a slight spicy freshness. These tiny green pellets are probably what started the whole curious journey for me. During one of my many voyages into terra incognita, I found myself part of a Moroccan tea ceremony.

“This ceremony is at the heart of all social gatherings and it was a great honour for me to be invited. I noticed the small, rolled, green leaves, brought from the orient since the Tang dynasty of the seventh century. I knew I needed to add them to my recipe back in The Shed. So I set off to their source: the eastern province of Zejiang, China, and discovered many an interesting botanical along the way.”

This has resulted in a gin that is delightfully fresh and rounded up front with citrus and spicy notes, followed closely by juniper. You’ll also note gunpowder tea, meadowsweet and coriander resulting in a very well balanced and surprising gin. CL