The opening of the new brand home for The Muff Liquor Company was attended on Tuesday, July 2 by celebrity investors in the company including Russell Crowe, Ronan Keating, and Ryan Tubridy.

Investors Ed Sheeran and Jimmy Carr sent good wishes to the launch event, unable to attend in person, but with plans to visit in the coming months.

The Muff Liquor Company was originally founded in 2017 by local entrepreneur Laura Bonner. The company launched its first product in early 2018 and now boasts a portfolio of award-winning spirits including vodka, gin and a peated Irish whiskey.

The company announced on Tuesday that it has received an initial order for 30,000 bottles of spirits for the US market from its new distributor stateside, adding more reasons to celebrate.

"Gladiator" star and musician Crowe, who has been touring with his band, jetted into Inishowen following a successful gig at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin on Monday night.

Discussing his love of the beverage brand, Crowe remarked; "I like it simple, I’ve been doing a mixture of passionfruit and pineapple in the sunshine, it’s a great combination."

Elaborating on his desire to get involved with The Muff, he continued; "When I heard the story of ‘ole Phil I just got really attracted to the product and that really sealed the idea for me. It’s a great product and the story is a fantastic story that will travel from place to place and country to country. I just wanted to be part of that."

Crowe was making reference to the inspiration for the handcrafted liquor range, Laura’s grandfather, Philip McClenaghan, who was a Donegal potato farmer and poitin maker.

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.

Related: Irish Whiskey, Irish American