Drumshanbo is celebrating this evening as Gunpowder Irish Gin has won two awards at the Oscars of the Spirits industry.
The firm, founded by Pat Rigney, won the International Spirit Brand of the Year at the prestigious 2022 Wine Enthusiast Star Awards.
They also won Distillery of the year at the same awards which were live streamed from Florida this afternoon.
Speaking in the last few minutes with Kevin McGillicuddy, the Leitrim businessman said it was a huge honour for the company which employs dozens of people at its visitor experience in Drumshanbo.
"It's a huge accolade, we also won distillery of the year with the same awards. These are really the Oscars, the highest accolades in the industry and we were up against some very stiff competition and it's really a tribute to the brand but also the staff and the team here in Drumshanbo for creating a world class brand. We were up against some incredible international brands like Arbeg Scotch, Moët Hennessy, and Teremana Tequila by Jägermeister which is actually Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's brand so thankfully I didn't have to get in the ring with him to win the award. It's a great affirmation for our brand and it's something that will encourage people to come and visit us in Drumshanbo at our visitor experience".
