Bartending Grandma Honored by Granddaughter and Always Sunny Stars (Exclusive)

• This year, Emberlin Leja entered a story about her grandmother, semi-retired bartender Rose Leja, into a competition run by Four Walls Irish American Whiskey, founded by It’s always sunny in Philadelphia stars Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton
• Although it didn’t ultimately win the top prize, Emberlin’s story inspired Four Walls to make a video about Rose — and make a special T-shirt
• “Every drink you can think of, I’ve probably made,” Rose tells PEOPLE.

One woman’s heartwarming story about her feisty 97-year-old bartending grandmother recently inspired a charity initiative involving the stars of It’s always sunny in Philadelphia.

Back in May, Four Walls Irish American Whiskey – the whiskey brand founded by Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton, and Adima maker platform co-founded by McElhenney invited people share their best bar stories.

One notable entry for the contest came from Emberlin Leja, who tells PEOPLE she heard about the contest on social media.

“I happened to know someone incredible who has so many great stories about their time in the bar,” she recalled, thinking of her grandmother Rose Leja, a resident of Auburn, New York. “So it was a natural progression to start writing about her and learning more about her background.”

Rose, who was born in Flemington to Polish immigrants, tells PEOPLE she grew up in a large family of 10.

After dropping out of high school at age 17, she held a variety of jobs, from milking cows to working at the JJ Newberry store, where she worked for $1.25 an hour.

Rose also worked at a department store and a grocery store. She later married her husband Babe, a state trooper, and they were together for 60 years until his death in 2009 at the age of 83. Together the couple raised two sons, John and Michael. “I have had a very beautiful life,” she says.

Her career as a bartender began in the 1960s and continued to this day with fraternal organizations in the Auburn area such as the Polish Falcons and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

“I’ve made a lot of (drinks) and they’ve been flying around,” Rose said of her concoctions. “I’ve made fancy drinks, all kinds of whiskey – (especially) honey whisky, which I love myself. I’ve probably made every drink you can think of.”

What she enjoyed most about her job was interacting with the people on the other side of the bar. “I love talking to someone. I was a real drinker myself, only outside office hours, and we drank my famous drinks, gin and tonic. I also drank a lot of crazy drinks.

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“I really loved them all,” she says of her clients. “I helped a lot of them. They didn’t have the money and I bought them the drink from the bar myself and they knew.

These days, Rose doesn’t barter much anymore, but she still goes out drinking with her son and daughter-in-law. “My dad told me she often goes there and says to the staff, ‘Oh, can I have a job?’ Would you let me work here?’ And they’ll say, “I mean, yes, if that’s what you want.” ”

Although, in the end, Emberlin’s entry wasn’t one of the matches winners of the main prizesFour Walls was so enamored with Rose’s story that they asked her family for photos to take a special video. Rose also inspired the company to launch a special edition T-shirt with the words ‘Four Walls’ and an illustration of a rose – with proceeds from sales benefiting the non-profit organization Stories from the Cocktail Foundation.

Rose found out all after Emberlin created and presented the video tribute to her – and it was quite a surprise.

“I thought, ‘What time can I share this with her that will be the least overwhelming for her?’ says Emberlin.

“I was shocked, I tell you,” Rose adds. “I think I’m still in shock.”

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Always sunny stars McElhenney, Day and Howerton say they “instantly connected” with Rose’s “three bartending rules: ‘don’t take bull, make everyone feel like they belong, and have a good time.’ ‘

“Four Walls is a celebration of the four walls of the bar and the role these bars play in shaping culture and community. And bartenders like Rose, who dedicate their lives to the craft, deserve recognition,” they add to. “We love the idea of ​​using her story to support the next generation of bartenders.”

“She is my most important role model in life,” Emberlin says of Rose. “She is such a strong person. She has always worked. She always puts 100 percent effort into everything she does. All the people in her life, every job she’s ever had… I would do anything to emulate her life just because it’s been so full.”

“I just think she’s the most wonderful person I’ve ever met,” Rose says of her granddaughter. ‘I love her. She is a sweet person. Not only is she beautiful, but she is also smart and I like smart people.”