Beara Ocean Gin makes a splash at Dingle Irish Whiskey Awards

BEARA Distillery has the Best Irish Gin on the market, according to a national awards body.

John Power, the owner of Beara Distillery, said he and his wife, Eileen, were overjoyed when their Beara Ocean Gin took the top accolade in the Irish Whiskey Awards 2019 in Dingle last Thursday night. John said: ‘An accolade like this is invaluable and proves to our customers and our distributors what we already know and that is that our product is the best.’

The owner of Beara distillery was only half joking when he said that his description of the research that went into establishing the distillery, and finding the perfect gin recipe, shows that this is truly a passion project. So far, the company – that employs four full-time, three-part-time, as well as their consultant, marketing and product development team – has won five major awards in the last two years.

Their Beara Ocean Gin won a gold award at a world-class event in China last year, but the best in Ireland title is, according to John, a real boost for the three-year old company. Vodka and gin are known in the industry as ‘white spirits’, but both Beara Ocean Gin and the Beara Pink Ocean Gin – which is infused with cranberries and rose water – are light years removed from turpentine tastes.

This has been confirmed time and time again when people at shows approach them to say they are not normally gin drinkers but they love Beara Ocean Gin.

What makes it so distinctive is that the botanicals give it a floral aroma while the alcohol is silky smooth to the palate due to its cold filtration. The presence of sugar kelp – seaweed to you and me – adds complexity and a fine back-taste of salt.

John said everyone in the family run business is justifiably proud of their blended gin, which involves blending four different distillets, or components, including the base gin, fresh citrus zest, sugar kelp and Fuschia, the iconic flower of West Cork.

After blending, John said they cut the gin with purified spring water from the Caha mountains and then it is cold filtered before infusing the final cut with Atlantic salt water.