Taste of Dublin 2016; Our Winning Stand!

Would you look at us! We made it, we actually won the Bank of Ireland competition for a Free stand at the Taste of Dublin 2016 Festival. We received over 3000 public votes after being shortlisted to 5 small food businesses and came out on top. Just; organisers said it was so close between all entries!

The Bank of Ireland team and their designers did a fab job on our stand. The concept we wanted to achieve was a Craft Soda Bar so with a raised counter, double fridge and stools we were able to invite festivals goers to prop up our bar and have a refreshing Black Castle craft soft drink!

Over the 4 day festival we sold more than 1,500 bottles and were thrilled with the response we got from the public. As a new company we cannot explain how great it was for brand awareness, helping get the word out there about our new grown up soft drinks. 

We were mentioned by the craft beer blog Simon Say's Beer, where our crafts sodas stood along side some great brews! http://simonsaysbeer.com/2016/06/19/taste-of-dublin/ 

So @_BLACKCASTLE_ just won @TasteDublin Bramble Sting is phenomenal! #tasteofdublin #LEMONADE pic.twitter.com/ZjKjXr6ujx

— Gavin Spencer (@TheGavinSpencer) June 18, 2016

We were also ask to supply the Citroen DS Hospitality event during Taste of Dublin as they wanted a sophisticated non-alcoholic option for their guests. One lovely tweeted the following...

Thanks to @DS_IRL for looking after us at @TasteofDublin pic.twitter.com/iTunmgE6lt

— Dave Humphreys (@LordHumphreys) June 19, 2016

 What a brilliant festival, thanks to Bank of Ireland, Taste of Dublin and everyone who voted for us and helped get us there! 

Below is a short video featuring ourselves and last year's winners The Little Milk Company, giving you a taste  of our experience! (pun intended!)

Indie Pop Stars Black Castle Drinks in The Sunday Irish Times!

This bank holiday Sunday we were featured in an excellent article on the soft drink movement in Ireland written by Corinna Hardgrave for the Sunday Times in Ireland. 

We were thrilled to be the featured so prominently and love the picture - John's face makes us laugh out loud!! Our Black Castle craft sodas were in good company too, with Poacher's Tonic and Wild Orchard soft drinks also featured. 

Link to Sunday Times http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/indie-pop-stars-ntxtzlwnj

Our delicious craft soda cocktail, The Red Setter also appeared! It's a citrus and spicey twist on a classic 'Jemmy & Red'. Check out the cocktail recipe below. 

THE RED SETTER

This twist on the ‘jemmy & red’ is made up of refreshing citrus flavours and fragrant spices using our Spiced Red Lemonade.

You’ll need:
Black Castle Spiced Red Lemonade
40ml Irish Whiskey
20ml Triple Sec
2 Dashes of Aromatic Bitters

Garnish with a large wedge of pink grapefruit and enjoy! 

Black Castle Drinks wins a stand at Taste of Dublin 2016!

Woooooo hoooo! We won! 

Thanks to you, the public, we managed to come first in the Bank of Ireland competition to win a stand at this year's Taste of Dublin! There were over 3,000 votes in what was a very close competition according to the organisers. 

The festival runs over 4 days from 16th - 19th June in the Iveagh Gardens in Dublin. We cannot wait to serve up refreshing craft sodas to the expected 34,000 attendees from our very own 'Black Castle Soda Bar'.

Massive THANK YOU again to all those who voted for us, it really does give us a huge boost to know we have so much support out there! 

Hope to see you at the festival!

We need your votes to WIN a stand a this year's Taste of Dublin!

We  cannot believe we've made it to the last five businesses vying for the public vote in order to win a stand at Taste of Dublin 2016! What an amazing opportunity, not to mention FUN, it would be to be at this year's festival. 

We'd love you forever if you gave us your vote on the Bank of Ireland website here >>>  http://businessbanking.bankofireland.com/taste-of-dublin/vote/

Or you can click on the button below!

Here's a little video too

Riva and John from Wicklow are the team behind BLACK CASTLE soft drinks. Having lived in London for a number of years they returned with a greater sense of pride for their little island and all it had to offer - the food, the drink, the culture and the laughs!

Thanks a million!