Westward bound for A Taste of Donegal Food Festival

A Taste of Donegal Food Festival takes place this weekend so it’s westward bound to Donegal where Ulrich will join over 130 exhibitors for a celebration of Ireland’s food and drink

MORE than 130 exhibitors will be descending on Donegal town for the 11^th A Taste of Donegal Festival which will run from August 23 to 25.

Donegal is fast becoming one of the most celebrated foodie stories where the food and drink offering is adding to the appeal of the rugged landscapes, the sandy shores and the loughs and the lakes.

The festival, which is designed to celebrate and promote great food and drink in Ireland, will include lots of celebrity chef demonstrations, tutored wine and beer tastings as well as lots of stalls hosting fellow food and drink producers like ourselves.

This is a must go to festival. Last year 28,000 people turned up in Donegal town and this year even bigger crowds are expected.

So, what can you expect from us? Well, we will be bringing along our award winning gins – Symphonia Dry Gin, Symphonia Apple Gin and Symphonia Fruit Cup.

For those of you who may not know us yet, Symphonia Dry Gin, is a beautiful harmony of flavours including basil, rose and dandelion flowers. It was recently awarded a silver medal in the International Wine and Spirits Competition and was also awarded Two Stars in the 2019 Great Taste Awards – not a bad start to our second year in business.

Symphonia Apple Gin is a gin made from the local Armagh Bramley Apple which blends seamlessly with juniper to create a crisp, refreshing spirit. Along with it too was awarded Two Stars in the 2019 Great Taste Awards.

Symphonia Fruit Cup is a summer fruit drink inspired by the raspberries and strawberries grown in The Woodlab Distillery. It’s lower in alcohol than the gins and is perfect served long for sipping on a sunny day. This too will go down a treat in Donegal.

Our range is distilled in the rolling hills of County Tyrone and is the brainchild of Dr Ulrich Dyer who spent 30 years working in the pharmaceutical industry before joining the food and drink scene. We are biased obviously but we just cannot help but love spread the Symphonia story.

Ulrich has developed some innovative distillation processes such as vacuum and microwave distillation to extract flavours and fragrances from ingredients which would be impossible using traditional pot-still distillation. This gives a wider palette of flavours and this allows a greater complexity and subtlety in the taste of these gins.

Wherever possible, Ulrich uses ingredients which grow in the area and so encapsulate the essence of the Irish countryside. Using his chemistry knowledge, and, examining the flavour molecules in various botanicals, he was able to replace exotic ingredients with locally grown substitutes – a great example is replacing cubeb pepper from Indonesia with dandelion flowers from the hedgerows.

Each botanical is distilled individually under bespoke conditions which produces a series of flavour notes. These notes are then composed into a series of Symphonias – hence the name.

So, come along to Donegal Town this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It’s a Bank Holiday Weekend and there is going to be a fantastic vibe in the town and we are looking forward to meeting everyone. There is lots happening including the Chef’s Competition, which will be judged by Peter Griffiths MBE, Bob McDonald, Master Chefs of Great Britain and Anthony Armstrong, World Association of Chefs Society. There will also be a Best Product of the Festival Competition and Most Attractive Stand Competition and Ocean FM will be broadcasting live. To find out more details visit A Taste of Donegal

Our range of award winning gins can be purchased by bars, restaurants and hoteliers through Drinksology or Causeway Sales. 

NOTES TO EDITOR:

• Symphonia is a range of handcrafted Irish spirits celebrating produce grown in the Irish countryside. The sophisticated Dry Gin is of exquisite complexity. The crisp Apple Gin is made using Co Armagh Bramley Apples and the Fruit Cup is a delicious summer fruit spirit drink. Symphonia is distilled at The Woodlab Distillery by Dr Ulrich Dyer who uses cold distillation to preserve flavours which are lost during traditional distillation. 
• For interview requests or further information contact Eleanor McGillie of MGMPR Ltd on 07709805379|