Dancing Sands toasts success
American distiller Ben Bonoma and his British wife Sarah, are on a mission to make New Zealand famous around the world for its gin.
The pair are producing five different spirits from their base in Takaka after giving up their corporate jobs in the northern hemisphere and heading south to find a different life.
They bought existing distillery equipment and now make around 200 bottles a day of Dancing Sands Vodka, Sacred Spring Dry Gin and barrel-aged gin and Murderer’s Bay white and gold rums.
After launching to market early last year, the entrepreneurs are hoping for a bumper 2017, after sales of the Sacred Spring Dry Gin more than doubled between August and December. The brands are now stocked in more than 100 liquor stores.
Managing director Ben Bonoma said: ‘‘We decided to start making what we liked to drink ourselves. I always wanted to be my own boss instead of building someone else’s vision.
‘‘We also wanted a different life and chose New Zealand because we had heard really good things about the country. We hadn’t ever visited before.’’
He said the company was determined there would be no ‘‘secret’’ ingredients to its products.
Bonoma said: ‘‘Our aim was to produce a high-quality, craft spirit that would sit happily alongside the big international players.
‘‘And we also wanted to be really transparent about our ingredients. The alcohol industry can be quite secretive, but we are open about using manuka leaves in some of our gin for their aromatic properties. Spicy notes are created with cardamom, and we also use coriander seeds, licorice and angelica root.’’
The company’s barrel-aged gin claims to be New Zealand’s first.
‘‘It’s a beautiful champagne colour because of the ageing in oak barrels,’’ said Bonoma.
Bonoma predicted Kiwis’ desire for the juniper based spirit would continue to increase.