The best gin in Ireland moves to Moy

The best gin in Ireland moves to Moy. Into our new custom gin distillery

After three years setting up and establishing Symphonia Gin from my adapted garage-come-laboratory It is time for me and the growing Symphonia Gin team to move on and expand into our new purpose-built facility. Since winning the 2019 Irish Gin awards “Champion of Champions” our sales have been on a steady upwards trajectory and now feels like the right time to move on.

We have already started moving into our new state of the art facility in Moy, County Tyrone and the team is excited about the possibilities this new location offers us.

So let’s find out a bit more our new home with four facts you might (or more likely might not) have known about Moy. It’s more commonly called ‘The Moy’.

It’s known as ‘The Moy’ by locals as it translates to ‘the plain’ or ‘an Maigh’, in Irish. This refers to the flood plain of the river Blackwater that divides the counties of Armagh and Tyrone.
It’s got a surprising link with Italy.

The town was established by the Earl of Charlemont in the 1760s, and the 18th century market square was inspired by the Earl’s visit to the Lombardy village of Bosco Marengo, Italy. Moy is still twinned with Bosco Morengo today.

Back in the day if you wanted a horse, you’d come to the Moy.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Moy was known for its horse fair. At its peak it was one of the largest in Europe, selling horses to the continental armies, including those used at the famous Battle of Waterloo. After the First World War, the use of horses began to reduce and the market declined, although the fair in Moy continued until the early 1950s. Today there is still a Riding School and annual boxing day hunt in the town, harking back to its equine past.

There’s a long history of spirits.
The 1910 Ulster Towns Directory records the population of Moy at just 486, with 19 of the townsfolk listed as either ‘spirit merchants’ or ‘spirit dealers’. We are not sure if gin was their tipple of choice in 1910, but Symphonia is certainly popular with the locals in 2020.

Today you can visit our favourite ‘spirit merchants’ in Moy, Daly’s World of Wine, to get your hands on a bottle of Symphonia Gin, now distilled right round the corner in the new Business Park on Killyman Street by Moy Demesne.

Or if you can’t make it to Moy just yet, you can now buy Symphonia right here from our online shop.
We look forward to welcoming visitors to our new distillery and gin school in Moy very soon, so check back on the blog for more updates or follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.