Nothing Comes Close

Nestling within the rolling green hills of County Armagh and bordered on one side by the broad expanse of Lough Neagh is a specific micro-climate where the temperature rarely falls below 3oC and rarely rises above 18oC.  Aided by a rich, fertile soil high in calcium and essential nutrients and an abundance of rain, these conditions produce an apple that has no equal anywhere in the world – the Armagh Bramley apple.  An apple that is high in malic acid and low in sugar, its unique flavour assures its position as the king of culinary apples. No wonder DEFRA awarded the Armagh Bramley apple Protected Geographical Ingredient (PGI) status.

It was the abundance of this fantastic ingredient that was the inspiration for Ulrich Dyer, the innovator behind the multi-award winning Symphonia gin brand, to create an equally unique Apple Gin.  He is the founder of Woodlab distillery, literally Laboratory in the Woods, so-called because of the rural location and the use of science to get the best from nature. All the gins he produces showcase local ingredients and he extracts the essence of these ingredients using an innovative distillation process that preserve delicate flavours.  This novel approach has already been validated with Symphonia Dry Gin winning Irish Gin of the Year 2019, Champion of Champions, beating 37 other distilleries across Ireland.

“I had to produce an apple gin because of where I live, here on the border of Tyrone and Armagh. I wanted to capture the crisp tart taste of green apple not the sweet taste of a dessert apple,” says Ulrich, “I achieved this by using the juice of these Bramley apples which have a perfect balance of sugar and acid. Juniper and crisp apple don’t sound as if they should work on paper but in the glass they combine beautifully, the juniper first followed at the end by crisp green apple.”

Launched in 2018 Symphonia Apple gin has already been awarded three internationally recognised awards, Two Stars in the Great Taste Awards.  It also was a finalist in the Irish Gin Awards for flavoured gin picking up a bronze medal, and most recently receiving another bronze medal at the very prestigious World Gin awards 2020.

The judges at the Great Taste Awards commented “the sour apple mingles with juniper nicely and ends with a very pleasing refreshing sweetness. Characterful and outstanding, a real pleasure. Completely nailed the flavour balance and interest. Outstanding beyond delicious”.

The gin has been welcomed with open arms in the bars and restaurants of Belfast not only because it is a local product but because of the uniqueness of its crisp apple taste balanced with the usual gin botanicals.  It very easily lends itself to a wide variety of different serves and it is this reason why it is stirring the imagination of local mixologists. Perfect in a green apple martini, or with tonic to give a gin and tonic with a crisp refreshing apple finish. It has also developed a following for the most simple of serves, Fiona Beckett the Guardian’s food and drink columnist tried Symphonia’s gins and commented “I like the basic gin in the range, but the apple gin, redolent of a good schnapps, is absolutely outstanding. Drink on the rocks”

2020 is going to be an exciting year for the company, opening a brand new distillery in Moy, Co.Tyrone which will include a gin school where people can come to learn the history, science and art of gin making and put it into practice by making their own recipe gins. Ulrich and his team are very much looking forward to welcoming guests “It’s a fantastic opportunity to find out more about how we have brought distillation into the 21st century and to have some fun with flavours”

 

 

 

THE GINS

SYMPHONIA IS A RANGE OF HANDCRAFTED SPIRITS, WHERE EACH SYMPHONY IS A UNIQUE COMPOSITION OF FLAVOURS

symphonia dey gin

SYMPHONIA NO.1

DRY GIN

SMALL BATCH DISTILLED DRY GIN HANDMADE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

NOTES

STARTS WITH AN IMMEDIATE CITRUS BURST, FOLLOWED BY NOTES OF FRESH LOCAL HERBS AND FLOWERS, ENDING WITH A LONG SPICY FINISH.

SERVE

SERVE WITH TONIC OR IN YOUR FAVOURITE GIN COCKTAIL.

BUY ONLINE

symphonia apple gin

SYMPHONIA NO.2

Apple GIN

SMALL BATCH DISTILLED DRY GIN HANDMADE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

NOTES

MADE WITH CRISP, GOLDEN BRAMLEY APPLES FROM COUNTY ARMAGH BLENDED SEAMLESSLY WITH JUNIPER, FLORAL AND HERBAL NOTES TO CREATE A REFRESHING FRUIT GIN.

SERVE

SERVE WITH TONIC OR IN YOUR FAVOURITE GIN COCKTAIL.

BUY ONLINE

More Blogs

Irish Whiskey and Food Pairing: A Culinary Exploration

Let’s step on a delightful journey of culinary harmony as we explore the art of pairing Irish whiskey with exquisite dishes. This blog will step on a flavourful adventure, discovering the perfect companions for two remarkable spirits from Symphonia Spirits – Irish...

read more

Sustainable Gin

Sustainability. Where does a distillery get started? Sure, you could take a look around and make a quick list of simple things. You could switch to a green energy provider and bingo, there’s a box ticked. But what difference does this actually make? How do you know?...

read more

Eco-Friendly Distillery

 Home-Grown Botanicals to an Eco-Friendly Distillery: Symphonia’s Sustainable Journey Success. As mentioned in our previous blog, the team at Symphonia Spirits were thrilled to be the recipients of a highly commended badge  at the latest Footprint Drinks...

read more

Footprint Drinks Sustainability Awards 2021

Symphonia Spirits receives coveted accolade at Footprint Drinks Sustainability Awards 2021. We are delighted to announce that  Symphonia Spirits have received a highly commended accolade at the prestigious Footprint Drinks Sustainability Awards 2021. The annual...

read more

Our green gin – Symphonia’s eco-friendly process

We’re all trying to do our bit for the environment, and Symphonia Gin is no different. In my last post I talked a bit about how the gin making process for Symphonia is different from regular still distillations, and how this contributes to the fantastic balanced...

read more

Introducing Symphonia’s Apple Rum

I am delighted to introduce Symphonia Apple Rum, our very first rum and our first foray outside the world of gin. Caribbean rum has been redistilled with local botanicals, adding a gentle spiciness, then infused with sweet Jonagold apples from Armagh, making this...

read more
0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop