Bord Bia's Bloom has awarded a gold medal to Blackwater Distillery for their bespoke-designed garden, which is the drink industry's first gin garden at the festival.
The Distillery was founded in 2012 and is located on the banks of the Blackwater River in County Waterford.
Rapidly Expanded
The company has rapidly expanded with its products such as Boyle’s Gin in Aldi; Blackwater No 5, a London dry gin; Woulfe’s Irish Vodka and the limited-edition Barry’s Tea-infused gin.
At this year's festival, the garden was one of 22 show gardens nominated for the best medium size garden, it revealed.
Ireland's garden designer's, landscapers and horticulturalists were all celebrated for their creativity and skills in this category.
Planet-Friendly
According to the statement, the Blackwater Gin garden was designed by Peter Cowell and Monty Richardson and showcases inventive upcycling of reclaimed and salvaged materials to create a garden both planet-friendly and lovely to look at.
"Each distillery is different, and this garden showcases how Blackwater uses its picturesque surroundings to enhance the uniqueness and quality of the tourism offering," said Patricia Callan, director, ABFI.
"We’re absolutely delighted to see Blackwater’s creativity being recognised by Ireland’s most prestigious garden show.” she said.
It also revealed that the drinks industry has been more focused on developing its tourism offering around Ireland with 13 distillery visitor centres with a combined footfall of 923,000, a 13.4% rise on 2017.
