Melanie Gandy is toasting a regional food and drink title from the Taste of the West awards. She runs the Boutique Gin Shack in Tavistock and won the South West Specialist Retailer Award.

Melanie said: “I’m really pleased. It’s a fantastic achievement for our small business which has built a reputation for selling over 100 small batch artisan gins from across the Southwest.  It’s a vote of thanks in our specialist gin selection with local producers and mixes.

"The judges came in anonymously and then later they identified themselves. They seemed to be impressed not only by our choice of more than 100 gins, but also by the number of smaller bottles which gives customers a more affordable range, especially important during the cost of living crisis.”