BELMONT, N.C. -- A Belmont business has been nominated for a national award.

Muddy River Distillery is one of the 20 distilleries in the running for USA Today’s Annual Readers’ Choice Best Craft Rum Distillery Award.

Robert and Caroline Delaney opened the rum distillery back in 2011. They have gone from making 30 bottles per day to 1,200 bottles per day.

“As we’ve grown our customer base, we’ve built the business to accommodate the sales,” Robert says.

The couple is appreciative of their customers.

“The satisfaction you get when someone comes taste your product and says ‘Oh my God this is amazing’ to the extent you get nominated for the top 10 rum distilleries in the country, that’s pretty cool,” Robert says.

Muddy River is the only distillery from North Carolina and South Carolina on the list.

“Hopefully it will bring more awareness to our company because there are a lot of people in the Carolinas, not to mention the rest of the country, that don’t even know we exist,” Robert says.

Robert says if his business wins or is in the top 10, he thinks it will be good overall for the area.

“That will definitely draws attention to Belmont, North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina and the Carolinas in general,” Robert says.

Voters choose the winner with their votes.

If you want to support Muddy River visit this page.

The poll closes on September 14 at 12 p.m. The top 10 distilleries will be announced September 25.