Gin-vincible: Drink’s accolade ‘would have made my dad proud’
AN IRISH gin has been crowned the best in the world, to the delight of the producer whose late father created it.
Dingle Original Gin pipped more than 400 competitors from around the world to scoop the top accolade at the World Gin Awards in London on Thursday night.
Elliott Hughes (25), a partner at Dingle Original Gin and son of late publican Oliver Hughes, said it was “an incredibly proud moment” which his father would have loved to have seen.
“We didn’t expect to win the overall prize so it was a real shock, but yeah, nice one,” said Mr Hughes. “I’m sure my dad would be very proud.”
He added that the Dingle Original hasn’t changed since it launched in 2012 and is the same recipe his father and his partners put together then.
Mr Hughes followed in the footsteps of his father by graduating with a law degree and then moving into the business.
“I’ve been getting lots of phone calls and texts,” he said. “I think everyone in Ireland knows Dingle Gin but now this award will help it gain a bit more credibility around the world, especially with people in the United States and farther afield.
“We had a couple of pints on Thursday night in the Porterhouse in London to celebrate and I’m sure we’ll be having a few gin and tonics this evening.”
Oliver Hughes, who died in July 2016 at the age of 57, was founder of the Porterhouse pub chain along with his cousin and business partner Liam LaHart.