When Kirker Greer Spirits was announced as Distributor of the Year at the 2025 London Spirits Competition, it marked more than just a feather in the cap for the independent Belfast-based company—it was a moment of recognition for a distinctive model built over years of design thinking, brand storytelling, and disciplined commercial strategy.

Founded in 2009 and still 100% independently owned, Kirker Greer has grown from its bar-design roots into a globally respected spirits company, with a portfolio that stretches across ten categories and four continents. But what unites brands as varied as Ukiyo Japanese Gin, Born Irish Whiskey, and Jawbox Gin isn’t trend-chasing—it’s a belief in accessible premium, rooted in provenance and brought to life through culturally attuned narratives.

In this conversation, Chief Marketing Officer Ali Pickering and Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer Ryan McFarland share what the award means, how their team balances brand integrity with market agility, and why being B Corp certified is less a milestone and more a mindset.

Image: Ryan McFarland, Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer at Drinksology Kirker Greer.

Kirker Greer Spirits has cultivated a diverse portfolio spanning ten spirit categories across four continents. How does this eclectic range align with your overarching vision, and what unifies these brands under the Kirker Greer ethos?

RM: At Kirker Greer Spirits, our portfolio is intentionally diverse, spanning ten spirit categories and four continents, but it’s all anchored in one core idea: accessible premium. We want to give consumers something that feels special, well-crafted, and rooted in provenance without pricing them out. That’s a global macro trend we’ve built around, and it holds true whether we're talking about Japanese gin, Irish whiskey, or Mexican agave.

Because of our background designing bars and building brand experiences around the world, we’ve developed a deep understanding of how people emotionally connect with spirits in different settings. That insight, combined with years of distribution experience, has helped us create brands that are structured, emotionally resonant, and commercially viable, yet flexible enough for partners to localise messaging where it matters.

Our in-house creative studio plays a big role here. We’ve built a brand asset portal that our global distributors can access, giving them everything they need while allowing for tailored executions in-market. It’s about maintaining control of the brand’s identity while giving our partners the tools to make meaningful, local connections. That’s how we unify such a broad portfolio under a single, agile ethos.

Image: Jawbox Small Batch Gin - Gold Winner at the 2025 London Spirits Competition.

With award-winning brands like Ukiyo Japanese Spirits, Born Irish Whiskey, and Jawbox Irish Gin, how do you balance innovation with authenticity in brand development?

RM: Balancing innovation with authenticity is one of the most important and rewarding parts of what we do. With brands like Ukiyo, Born Irish, and Jawbox, it always starts with a sense of place and purpose. Consumers today, particularly younger and more globally aware drinkers, aren’t just buying what’s in the bottle - they’re buying into a brand’s identity, values, and story.

For us, cultural relevance is key. Whether that means working with traditional Japanese distillation techniques for Ukiyo or tapping into the raw, contemporary voice of Born Irish Whiskey, we ensure every brand has a meaningful and authentic narrative at its core. That story becomes the bridge to the consumer. It creates an emotional connection, gives the product a reason to exist, and helps people see themselves in it.

Innovation, then, isn’t about gimmicks; it’s about finding new ways to express that authenticity. Whether through design, serve, or channel strategy, we stay culturally attuned while always grounding our brands in a sense of truth. That’s what sets them apart in a crowded marketplace.

Image: Ukiyo Japanese Rice Vodka - Spirits of the Year Japan at 2025 London Spirits Competition.

Your products are available in over 50 countries, with key markets including the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Singapore. Could you elaborate on your distribution strategy in these regions and any plans for expansion into emerging markets?

RM: Each market has its own dynamics, so we build distribution strategies that are tailored rather than templated with the help of carefully selected partners. In the UK and Ireland, we have a direct distribution and brand-building strategy, with a team working closely with both national and regional partners to ensure wide coverage and strong trade relationships. In Asia-Pacific, especially Singapore and Australia, we lean into premium positioning and localised brand education for scale retail partners and our specialist on-trade partners.  Looking ahead, we’re seeing real momentum both in European markets like the Netherlands and Germany, and in Global Travel Retail, with strong potential in Asian markets such as South Korea, India, and China, where curiosity for global spirits is growing among younger and more affluent consumers.

Image: Kirker Greer - crowned “Distributor of the Year” at the 2025 London Spirits Competition.

In the UK and Ireland, your brands are listed in major retailers like Tesco and are present in premium bars and restaurants. How do you tailor your approach to on-trade versus off-trade channels in these markets?

RM: In markets like the UK and Ireland, the lines between on- and off-trade have blurred in recent years, particularly post-pandemic. Consumers have become more confident recreating premium experiences at home, which has opened up new opportunities in the off-trade for brands traditionally built in bars and restaurants.

For us, it’s about taking an omnichannel approach without compromising long-term brand value. That means being highly intentional with our pricing strategy and positioning to ensure that each channel supports, rather than undermines, the other. Whether it’s a scale retail partner or a high-end cocktail bar, we tailor the rationale for listing around both brand credibility and commercial sense.

We still see the on-trade as a vital space for building brand engagement and delivering the kind of elevated experiences that justify a premium. The challenge now lies in frequency and spend per visit. So, our focus going forward is on helping venues create moments that matter, ones that encourage repeat engagement and leave a lasting impression. It’s no longer just about presence, it’s about purpose in every channel.

Image: Ali Pickering, Chief Marketing Officer at Drinksology Kirker Greer.

The recent out-of-home campaign for Ukiyo Tokyo Dry Gin on the London Underground showcased a bold marketing move. What role do such campaigns play in your overall marketing strategy, and how do you measure their impact?

AP: We see campaigns like that as both brand-building and conversation-starting. Ukiyo is a visually striking brand, and the Underground gave us a huge canvas to bring that to life. While digital metrics are important, we also look at uplift in trade interest, social chatter, and consumer recognition. It’s not always about direct ROI, it’s about positioning the brand where we want it to sit in people’s minds, building mental availability to drive consideration and ultimately purchase over the medium-term.

Image: Ukiyo Tokyo Dry Gin has launched its first out-of-home campaign across the London Underground last year. Source: Drinksology Kirker Greer

With the appointment of a global brand ambassador and partnerships with distributors like Duty Free Global, how do you ensure consistent brand messaging and consumer engagement across diverse markets?

AP: It comes down to clarity and collaboration. We invest time in building detailed brand playbooks and activation toolkits that ensure everyone, from our ambassadors to local partners, has a clear understanding of the brand's DNA. At the same time, we empower local teams to adapt activations for cultural nuance. Being globally consistent, but locally relevant, is the sweet spot we aim for. Additionally, building relationships between marketing teams and distributors is important to me, so we can ensure that brand plans we build centrally take local feedback into account. 

Image: Co-founder and liquid specialist, Richard Ryan, recently led a virtual training session with the incredible Spirit Specialists from Dan Murphy's Bottle Shops in Australia.

Achieving B Corp certification is a significant milestone. How does this commitment to social and environmental responsibility influence your day-to-day operations and long-term business strategies?

AP: It’s not just a badge, it’s a framework for how we make decisions. From how we select suppliers to how we design packaging, B Corp principles are now embedded in our processes. It’s encouraged us to be more transparent, more mindful, and ultimately more accountable. Long-term, we see it as essential to futureproofing the business and doing right by our team, our partners, and the planet.

Image: The Drinksology Kirker Greer team.

Winning 'Distributor of the Year' at the 2025 London Spirits Competition is a notable achievement. How do you plan to leverage this recognition in your branding and marketing efforts moving forward?

AP: It’s a proud moment and a testament to the hard work of our team and partners globally. We’ll use it as a mark of trust - reassuring new partners and markets that we have the credentials to deliver. It also motivates us to raise the bar even higher. Recognition like this helps open doors, but what we do next is what really matters.

With plans to introduce new products like an agave spirit and an Asian whisky, what can consumers expect from Kirker Greer Spirits in the coming years, and how do these additions align with current market trends?

AP: Consumers can expect thoughtful, well-crafted spirits that bring something genuinely different to the table. The agave category is booming, but we’re not interested in copying and pasting, we’re working with producers who share our values. The Asian whisky project is equally exciting, respectful of tradition, but with a fresh perspective. Ultimately, we’ll continue to invest in quality, provenance, and storytelling - the things that never go out of fashion.

At the same time, we’re continuing to develop our existing portfolio to stay relevant and offer more depth within each brand family. Kirker Irish Whiskey, for example, will be launching an exclusive GTR expression that offers more complexity and caters to a premium, travelling consumer who values craft and story. This launch will allow us to showcase the brand’s versatility and connect with a wider international audience in a meaningful way.

Bowsaw American Whiskey will also evolve through targeted line extensions that play into the growing appetite for distinctive American styles. Whether it’s experimenting with mash bills or introducing limited-edition cask finishes, we’re offering whiskey drinkers reasons to return and rediscover within the brand.

Image: From (L-R) Born Irish Whiskey and Jawbox Apple & Ginger Gin Liqueur.

On the gin side, the recent launch of Jawbox Apple & Ginger Gin Liqueur is a perfect example of how we can innovate within a brand while maintaining its core identity. It taps into flavour-driven trends and lower-ABV preferences, while still delivering the boldness and Belfast character that Jawbox is known for.

So, whether we’re launching something entirely new or extending something well-loved, the through line is always the same: quality, provenance, and storytelling. These are the foundations we build on, and they’re not going out of fashion anytime soon.

Conclusion:

As Kirker Greer Spirits looks ahead, the aim isn’t to rest on accolades, but to build on them—deepening existing brands and expanding into new territories with the same sense of purpose that has guided the company since its founding. Whether through thoughtful agave spirits, contemporary Asian whiskies, or nuanced GTR releases, the through line remains consistent: deliver well-crafted spirits with a reason to exist.

Recognition like the Distributor of the Year title may open doors, but as Pickering notes, “what we do next is what really matters.” For a company built at the intersection of creativity, strategy, and authenticity, that next step promises to be one worth watching.

In conversation with Malvika Patel, Editor and VP, Beverage Trade Network

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