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Build it and they will come - PJ Rigney has proven this adage with his remarkable visitor centre in deepest Leitrim.
A leading figure in the Irish drinks industry since way back when, serial entrepreneur PJ Rigney had invented a host of drinks - most notably Sheridan’s Irish liqueur, while he was with Baileys in the 1980s - before he found his spiritual home here in rural Leitrim and, putting his inventive mind to work on a grand scale, opened The Shed Distillery in 2014. Their phenomenally successful Drumshanbo Gunpowder Gin launched in 2016 - and, many impressive brands later, it is still the flagship product that has made the small Shannon-side town of Drumshanbo familar to discerning drinkers around the world.
And The Shed Distillery is a genuine destination which - together with other imaginative plans that PJ Rigney continues to develop for the business and the area - has transformed the town of Drumshanbo and even the county itself. A trailblazer of the current Irish drinks renaissance, The Shed was the first distillery to open in Connacht for over a century and its world class visitor centre offers entertaining and informative tours of the gin, vodka and whiskey production, complete with tasting and a cocktail to relax over in the magnificent Honey Badger Bar at the end of your tour.
Alongside the visitor centre, The Jackalope Café is a popular meeting place for locals and, with both indoor and outdoor seating, this appealing venue makes a worthwhile day trip for anyone visiting the region. Operated independently by Dave Fitzgibbon and Siobhán Smyth, who previously had a restaurant in nearby Carrick-on-Shannon, it's an attractive spot with a rustic look - lots of wood, planter divides and mismatched furniture - and a busy flow of townspeople, as well as the groups and individuals visiting the distillery.
Although mainly self-service - reflecting the needs of large numbers of hungry people arriving in on tours - there is also an à la carte Breakfast Menu and all day Café Menu with table service for less rushed visitors, and the outdoor tables at the front are sought after in fine weather. As would be expected, the wide ranging menus offer plenty of crowd pleasers, but also with some local touches - McNiffe's Potato Cake, for example, from a well known producer of local potato specialities dishes, potato cake and boxty, and also some incuding house products, such as Drumshanbo Single Pot Whiskey. The daytime café is open every day, but on Friday and Saturday evenings the offering gears up with with a 'Tails & Tapas' menu, that's served next door in the exotic Honey Badger Bar.
All round PJ Rigney has created something very special here - and, not only is The Shed well worth a detour, but the town itself is a place to keep an eye on as there are many imaginative developments afoot.
