Something very exciting has opened in The Food Hub, Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim. If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to be Charlie in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory – but in a grown up context – you won’t want to miss tour. Sit back, grab a drink, and let the fun be-Gin (see what I did there 😉 )
Part of my job involves Taste Leitrim, so I was absolutely thrilled to go along for a preview tour The Shed Distillery Visitor Experience. I always love it when I visit special places, and this place just blew me away. It’s a privilege to have something on this scale in Leitrim.
You may not have heard of The Shed Distillery before, but you’ve probably heard of Drumshanbo Gunpowder Gin, or seen the distinctive blue bottles. Well it’s made in The Shed, along with Sausage Tree Vodka and Drumshanbo Irish Whiskey. Now you can visit the distillery and find out how the drinks are made….but it’s so much more than a tour. The Shed prides itself on traditional distillation using medieval copper stills and is the first multi-purpose distillery of its kind in Ireland, you will visit the distillery on the tour.
We were invited enter ‘The Curious Mind’ and that’s just what PJ Rigney, the genius behind the distillery has. I must confess I thought The Curious Journey, I’d read so much about, was a marketing campaign but it’s all true. PJ Rigney has travelled the world to come up with the distinctive flavours of his drinks. The tour is full of treasures collected on that journey. It was also a pleasure to meet PJ, I’d like to spend an hour in his curious mind.
On the tour we saw the fruit from a sausage tree – yes that’s a real tree. We heard about the mythical Jackalope (it’s kind of like a hare crossed with a unicorn!). We saw the first bottle of whiskey distilled in Leitrim in over 100 years. We were told about the Ogham writing that is on every single bottle and we heard that each bottle is hand labeled. I’m not going to tell you about the rest of the tour, or the various rooms because it’s something you need to experience yourself and me telling you about it would spoil it.
The attention to detail is second to none, there’s something to see wherever you look. Even the toilets are special! There’s The Honey Badger bar with an old fashioned till and beautiful blue seats, I would happily spend the day here.
There’s also The Jackalope Cafe offering hot and cold dishes and drinks, check out the fabulous glass topped tables with memorabilia in them.
You can also stock up on your favourite products in the shop, including the much sort after ceramic Drumshanbo Gunpowder Gin bottles. There are also miniature bottles, chocolates, clothing, ceramics and so much more.
So if you are planning to go anywhere this autumn go here. You won’t regret it. You can book your tour online here: https://www.thesheddistillery.com/visit-us/
Magnumlady Blog 