Co Antrim men launch range of hand-crafted cocktails

James Deery from Newtownabbey and Dylan Hill from Lisburn have invested £25k into creating a new range of hand-crafted cocktails, SIPS by Dylan.

Founder and Managing Director at SIPS by Dylan, James, is a restauranteur by trade and has suffered the closure of his restaurant, JECS Bar and Grill in Newtownabbey, repeatedly throughout the last year.

He said: “This is a project we have been working on since lockdown one and we’re delighted to now bring a range of eight flavours to market.

“With the restaurant closed and the staff out of work we have built an entirely new product development area in the restaurant where we create all our flavours in-house using only the finest of ingredients. At present we are employing 10 staff on the project who are working in team bubbles to create and bottle each handcrafted cocktail.

“Obviously, the way in which we socialise and unwind has been dramatically changed in the last 11 months, but we believe that a Saturday night or a special occasion can still be just that – special.”

What began as a hobby and a passion for insurance sales man, and now Flavour Creator, Dylan Hill, has now developed into this new business venture, one he is incredibly proud of.

He explained: “Making cocktails has for a long time been a passion of mine and during lockdown it became something I spent more and more time on – I was always striving for greatness, and I am so happy with the collection we have now. Innovation and the confidence to try new things has been key to the success so far.

“Each cocktail uses top quality ingredients and has been crafted to create that perfect foamy head if shaken over ice, but we’ve also added our own unique collection of ‘TIPS’ by Dylan – these are the special touches that I would add if creating the cocktail at home, but that can’t be bottled.

“Tips such as sprinkling grated Ferrero Rocher over the Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Martini or adding a few drops of Angostura Bitters to the Sweet and Sour spice really jazz up the flavours and add the wow factor that is expected from a cocktail!”

One stockist, Kevin O’Reilly from Anjo Wines and O’Reilly’s Off Sales, a Newry based importer of fine wines, beers and spirits stock SIPs by Dylan in their five O’Reilly’s stores.

For more information about the range of cocktails, click here

Earlier this week the Ulster Star reported that talented chef Leigh Ferguson had opened Origin 101 restaurant in Moira during lockdown with partner Kelsey Kane.

For more on this story, read here

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