Glendalough Gin ready to make a splash in Canada
GLENDALOUGH Gin is one of three Irish gin brands which are now available in Ontario, which is the world’s largest controlled market for alcohol sales.
Glendalough Gin, along with Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin and Galway Gin, have been approved for sale in Ontario following a trade mission last year.
The Irish gin producers were listed last week for sale by LCBO, which retails and distributes alcoholic beverages in Ontario. LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) has a monopoly of alcohol off-trade sales in Ontario, the province where 40 per cent of the Canadian population lives. Ontario is the largest controlled market for alcohol sales in the world and LCBO is the largest buyer of alcohol in the world.
The Glendalough Distillery was set up by a group of friends from Wicklow and Dublin with a passion for reviving the heritage of craft distilling in Ireland. To make their gins, Glendalough Distillery forage wild plants from the mountains around the distillery. What they pick goes fresh into the still within hours of foraging.
The listing by LCBO follows a successful trade mission to Canada last year, led by Michael Creed TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and The Marine. The Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI) joined the trade mission which focused on increasing exports of Irish drinks categories to Canada following the completion of the new trade deal between the EU and Canada, known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The CETA agreement removed the remaining tariffs on Irish gin entering Canada. It also reformed provincial liquor board levels on imported spirits, which has helped the pricing of premium Irish gins in Canada.
During the trade mission, Minister Creed, at the request of ABFI, asked the President of LCBO to consider listing Irish gin. This request by the Minister and follow-up lobbying by ABFI resulted in the decision by LCBO to run the first-ever competitive process to select Irish gin for listing in their stores.
Patricia Callan, Director of Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI) said: ‘Last year, Irish gin became increasingly popular among international consumers. The latest figures from the CSO show that the value of exports of Irish gin from the Republic of Ireland was up 213 per cent to €4.2 million in the first nine months of 2018. Following last year’s successful trade mission to Canada and significant engagement by ABFI, the listing of Irish gin by LCBO will see Canada opening up as another key market’.