Limerick's The Shed Distillery, maker of Gunpowder Irish Gin, has raised €250,000 in funding from the Employment and Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS).
Patrick J Rigney, who opened The Shed in December 2014 making it Connacht's first distillery in 101 years, has previously worked for Boru Vodka, Baileys Irish Cream and Sheridan's Liqueur. The multi-purpose distillery produces herbaceous gins, potato vodkas, "the mellowest hand-made whiskeys" and a variety of liqueurs. Rigney had previously secured a €275,000 payment from Enterprise Ireland in 2014 reports bizplus.ie.
The distillery is located in Drumshanbo's 'The Food Hub', a multi-tenant food production enterprise centre which is home to 14 production units spread over 26,000 square feet of space, including the likes of Carrig Brewing Company.
"People are often amazed when they come in and see fresh sprouts alongside raspberries, blueberries, citrus fruits, juniper berries and chocolate. That’s the beauty of The Shed – we can venture outside our comfort zone to come up with completely new recipes," says Rigney.
"Setting up my own distillery was always a dream of mine. It was important to find the perfect location and a community that would embrace the concept. We worked to a tight budget and we were very fortunate to have such a close relationship with the local community in Drumshanbo, where we secured excellent craftsmanship, builders, architects and materials with the skills necessary to deliver a world class distillery," added Rigney.
