Luck of the Irish: An Irish gin and an Irish whiskey have topped a list of consumers’ favorite spirits of the past year.

Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin and Redbreast Lustau Edition Irish whiskey have been announced as two of the five spirits recognized in the Flaviar Awards 2019.

The Flaviar Awards is a curation and celebration of five of the very finest spirits, enthusiasts have rated over the past year. The Flaviar Awards is the only significant spirits awards based on what consumers are actually drinking and enjoying. Judging takes into account multiple data points including consumer ratings and reviews as well as sales, repeat sales and wish list data, all collated and analyzed by Flaviar. In 2018, there were over 99,000 consumer ratings, and 15,000 consumer reviews.

This year’s top five includes an Irish gin and whiskey, a Japanese whisky, a rum and a bourbon. Proving Japanese whisky has lost none of its appeal Nikka Coffey Grain whisky is recognized with a Flaviar Community Award alongside a home-grown favorite, Four Roses Single Barrel and the perennial standard in rum, El Dorado 15 Year Old.

Commenting on the Flaviar Awards 2019, Flaviar co-founder Jugoslav Petkovic, comments: “It may be a bit of a surprise to see an Irish Gin top the list, but once you taste Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish gin you can absolutely see why our members are raving about it. It is citrus-led gin made with gunpowder tea alongside 11 other botanicals, it’s a real explosion of flavor in a bottle.

“Flaviar members are often early adopters when it comes to spirits, always keen to discover new, exciting flavors, so as you’d expect they do pretty well when it comes to predicting what is going to be big. The Flaviar Awards has consistently identified future trends and ones to watch ahead of the curve. Previous Flaviar Award winners include Monkey 47 (2012), Nikka Japanese whisky (2013), Aviation gin (2013 + 2018), High West Bourbon (2013) and Sipsmith gin (2017) all of which went on to have much commercial and consumer success.

“Flaviar is here to democratize the spirits industry and to make it easier for consumers to try and find spirits that will truly delight. The five spirits recognized in the Flaviar Awards 2019 are definitely drinks to savor now and also ones to watch in future.”

PJ Rigney the ‘Curious Mind’ & founder of Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, comments: “There is nothing more exciting than seeing your brand win an award like the Flaviar Awards! There is no greater buzz than creating something new that resonates with people across the world. I love making things, physically, from farm to fork, which is what we are doing here at The Shed Distillery, Drumshanbo, Ireland

“With Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin PJ Rigney is distilling ‘oriental botanicals with gunpowder tea” combining it with meadowsweet which he harvests in Drumshanbo to create a truly remarkable, delicious, and very exotic tasting citrus gin that compares outstandingly well with the best the world has to offer.”

To learn more about Flaviar membership and try all five winning spirits, visit www.Flaviar.com.

Flaviar Awards 2019 winners

• Gin: Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin
• Rum: El Dorado 15 Year Old
• Bourbon: Four Roses Single Barrel
• Irish whiskey: Redbreast Lustau Edition
• Japanese whiskey: Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky

Five fun facts about Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin

• It is made in a small town in Ireland called Drumshanbo, County Leitrim
• It is Kosher
• It is distilled using fresh citrus and gunpowder tea
• It is rested 21 days after distillation
• Drumshanbo Gunpowder Gin is made at the Shed Distillery, which is the first distillery in the province of Connacht for 101 years. There are 30 people working at the distillery slow distilling and hand-bottling Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish gin, around 24 of which were previously long term unemployed.

A bit of background on the Flaviar Awards:

The Flaviar Awards is only significant spirits awards based on what consumers are actually drinking and enjoying and so they give a good indication of what real spirits enthusiasts are rating and drinking at the moment.

The Flaviar Awards are very good at identifying emerging trends/ ones to watch before they get big. Nikka won before the Japanese whisky explosion in 2014, Monkey 47 in 2012 and High West in 2013 which both did very well and sold a few years later.

Two of the top five spirits in the Flaviar Awards 2019 are Irish, including Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish gin and Redbreast Lustau Edition Irish whiskey