Welcome to Hinch Distillery! A spark of genius from Northern Ireland’s, home grown, entrepreneur, Dr Terry Cross OBE.
Hinch Distillery may be a newcomer to the spirit scene in Northern Ireland and indeed internationally but it isn’t wasting any time when it comes to creating a neat splash in the industry.
Located just south of Belfast in the grounds of the beautiful Killaney Estate, the Hinch Distillery takes its name from the nearby town of Ballynahinch, Co. Down, whose name in Irish translates as ‘town of the island’.
County Down has a strong distilling history and from the late 18th to the early 20th century was home to seven Irish Whiskey producing distilleries. This area has also been a cultural melting pot, where Irish and Scottish traditions, methods and ideas have been exchanged and assimilated over the centuries. Combined, these are the factors that inspired Dr Terry Cross OBE to create the Hinch Distillery.
This local County Down Distillery, launched its Ninth Wave Gin and Hinch Whiskey brands last summer, achieving Gold status for its gin at an international awards event in January of this year, in the ‘Contemporary Gin Style’ category.
This World Gin Award is one of many accolades the company has received just six months after its products were launched to the public through a variety of independent off trade and on trade establishments here in Northern Ireland and abroad.
In February this year, the limelight was on the company’s Hinch Whiskey which received a Silver Medal for its Five Year Old Double Wood at the World Whiskey Awards 2020 and racking up its third award, a Gold Award at the Australian International Sprits Competition (AUISC) in the ‘contemporary style’ category for its Ninth Wave brand.
Speaking about the latest trophy the firm can add to its cabinet, Hinch Distillery Chairman, Dr Terry Cross OBE, said: “We are thrilled that our Ninth Wave Gin continues to impress experts in the sprits field here and at the other side of the world.
“To receive the Gold Award in the contemporary category at the AUISC shows us that while we may be a young company, we’ve already made many of the right decisions from our inception and we’re glad our self-belief is being endorsed by those who know best at home and away. It really marks the perfect start to what will be an exciting year for Hinch Distillery as construction revs up for an official launch later this year.
“We would like to congratulate everyone at Hinch for their contribution to the development of this award-winning recipe, and of course the industry experts who have joined us on this journey.”
Hinch is carving its own path through, not only Northern Ireland, but the world. Breaking international boundaries and fast becoming a globally recognised brand – Northern Ireland can be proud that the acorn was planted on home soil as the Ballynahinch based company has won significant business in the Asia Pacific region for its successful Irish whiskey and gin and now distributes through Australia, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, through making its own international contacts and with the backing of Invest Northern Ireland trade support to ship consignments of its Hinch Irish Whiskey globally. The new orders mean the company is on target to supply its products to 23 markets around the world by the end of this year!
Announcing the new deals, Michael Morris, International Sales Director of Hinch Distillery said: “The new orders are immensely important and are the result of an extensive marketing campaign late last year covering Australia and other parts of Asia Pacific, one of the world’s most dynamic emerging markets for Irish whiskey and gin. Global demand for premium Irish whiskey and Irish gin continues to grow strongly.
“The orders include our international award-winning 5-year old “double wood” finished in new American Oak barrels, and a 10-year old premium blend finished in Sherry casks. The new customers were highly impressed by the quality, outstanding taste, range and packaging of our spirits.
“We see the new export business as the ‘light at the end of a very dark tunnel’ for our industry and others especially in hospitality. In addition, we are finalising distribution arrangements in the US for all our products. The orders and approaches are hugely encouraging and come at a time when we are finishing our state-of-the-art distillery.”
Hinch Distillery has continued to do business in Europe through its network of distributors on the continent despite the COVID-19 crisis and these markets look ready to reopen slowly but surely in the coming months. Development of the distillery and marketing initiatives have been supported by Invest Northern Ireland.
