A Co Tyrone distillery is hoping to double its production in the coming months as it seeks to expand its operations.
The Wild Atlantic Distillery was established in Aghyaran in the west of the county in 2019, initially distilling and bottling its own gin and has now moved into whiskey and vodka distilling as well.
Globetrotting owner Brian Ash had spent years travelling the world working as a marine engineer, before settling down in the rural village in the early 2000s.
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Now Brian and his brother-in-law Jim are offering shares in the business to local people as they seek to grow the business.
“I’ve spent decades travelling the world as a sailor and marine engineer and I married a Tyrone woman, we got married here in Aghyaran back in 2000.
“I never thought I’d live here, I went from England to the Carribean to Spain and all over Europe.
“I’m the only marine engineer landlocked and living in Aghyaran! So that’s what brought me here.
“I love it here because it’s very rural, it’s gorgeous and no better place when the sun shines.
“We’ve a great relationship with Tourism NI, they’ve been great supporters of ours, they are launching a new distillery trail across Northern Ireland and we’re one of those on the trail.
“They love the fact that we’re rural and we’re in Tyrone. Why not have an award-winning distillery here?”
The distillery’s spirits have won a number of industry awards, and it now offers distillery tours and is popular with tourists coming to visit nearby Donegal. Brian says it’s the first distillery to be set up in the area in more than 100 years.
“We’ve established the brand now and we’ve got award-winning products. Along with a number of other great distilleries here we are bringing a level of craft you don’t get with every gin or whiskey.
“We had to pivot things when we were hit with a global pandemic shortly after opening, but we’re proud of where we are now today.”
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