Sussex distillery to open its doors for rum school and tours

Goldstone Rum, in Henfield, is one of only four distilleries in the country which ferments its sugar and molasses to produce its rum.

Georgina Bowell, who runs the business with her husband John, said: “Most rum distilleries in the UK are bringing in spirit from the Caribbean and redistilling to blend their own flavour. We have gone back to basics and are making a true British rum by fermenting sugar in our little Sussex distillery.

“Typically, rum is made using molasses, we have a completely unique take on ours by blending four types jaggery, panela with molasses and fresh sugar cane juice which has been pressed in London and delivered to us within hours of production, to the best of our knowledge we are the only UK producer making rum with fresh sugar cane juice in the UK.”

During lockdown John and Georgina were thinking of ideas for a family run business so they could move away from the corporate world.

It has taken the couple a long time researching, refining, training and understanding the market to get them to the point to open to the distillery and its rum school which opens on December 10.

The rums come in a number of flavours, including spiced rum, ginger and lime, white rum, cask aged and cold brew coffee.

Georgina said: “We wanted to do something a bit different so we turned to our Savoy cocktail book and looked up some of the more traditional cocktails that feature rum, we’ve then used those in our distillation process to infuse the rum itself rather than adding artificial flavours to our white rum.

"Personally I like the Kola nut best and John is very keen on the cold pressed coffee and looking forward to sampling our aged rum once it has matured.”

The coffee rum is a take on an espresso martini, or a black or white Russian, the ginger and lime is a take on a dark stormy.

She added: “We have experimented with a Mojito style infusing lime, mint and sweetened with sugar, but we haven't got it quite right, but who knows maybe one for the future.”

The distillery tour has been reduced to £10 per person, it includes a guided tour of the distillery and a rum tasting at the end. It also offers gift vouchers for all of its experiences.

For more information, visit goldstonerum.com/

What to consider when buying in a conservation area