A while ago last year I received a message on Instagram from Goldstone’s account saying I’m very welcomed to visit their distillery if I ever wish to do so. Fast forward a few months at the end of September 2023 and I finally managed to take them upon it.
Goldstone Distillery is a small rum distillery in Sussex that was founded by John and Georgina Bowell. It was an idea that was born during lockdown for them to be able to build something where they would be their own bosses and would allow them to spend more time with their young family. John has extensive background as a chef which helped him put together his rum recipe, while Georgina has spent 13 years of her career promoting some very well known UK brands and she currently leads the marketing and supports the business development strategies for Goldstone.
As I mentioned, Goldstone is based in Sussex, in the Henfield Business Park. While I was doing these English rum distillery tours it was funny to see how some bus drivers were confused as to why I was getting off in fairly remote locations. Once I arrived at the business park it took me a few minutes to spot the unit where Goldstone was, but I have to say, it was well worth it. John was very enthusiastic from the get go and offered me a little rum and mixer before we started chatting rum.
The space where Goldstone is located is pretty compact, but well organised. Upstairs there’s a little office setup alongside their bar and The Spirit Lab where John and Georgina are running their Rum School. People that wish to visit the distillery have the option to book a Rum School session where they will be walked through distilling and flavouring their own bespoke bottle of rum or gin using various ingredients and botanicals. I have to say, it’s all set up very nicely, with a vintage-like vibe. Downstairs is where all the Goldstone magic happens, from fermenting to distilling and bottling.
Speaking of magic, let’s see how the Goldstone Rum is being made.
Fermentation
Goldstone has 4×1000 litre plastic IBCs that are used for fermentation in rotations of 2 to ensure continuous production. For the raw material they use a combination of molasses, organic panela/rapadura sugar, jaggery and cane juice that is being fermented using a special yeast that was designed for rums made from different types of unrefined sugars.
Now a few points about this, because I can see some questions flowing in the comments. Both the panela and jaggery are unrefined sugars, basically reduced sugar cane juice. John has previously experimented with fermenting and distilling them separately, but he concluded that it’s easier and better for his flavour profile to combine them in the wash. While the ratios of the ingredients were not revealed to me, he said that the molasses content is the highest. The cane juice is sourced from London (I don’t know more details) and it takes roughly a 3 hour drive to bring it back to the distillery to be processed.
This blend of raw materials is mixed with water, yeast and a little bit of dunder and it’s fermented at around 28-32 degrees Celsius for a minimum of 14 days. The resulted wash measures around 18-20% ABV due to its high sugar content.
John, with a smirk on his face I may add, was kind enough to show me a container that had (at the time) a ferment that was 9 months old (so over 12 months now). He said he’s planning to distill it this year and, depending on the result, he will cask it and launch it as a limited edition at some point in the future. Hopefully he won’t forget to give me a heads up when that will happen because I’m very intrigued.
Distillation
If you’re upstairs in The Spirit Lab you’ll notice a large window that has a clear view of the fairly large hybrid still downstairs. Nelmar (named after their daughters, Nelly and Margot) is a 500 litre, gas heated, hybrid still with a pot and rectifying column. The still itself is a Des Still Aroma Max and apparently it’s quite unique when we are looking at the column component. According to John: “This is similar to a column still, but has a series of copper channels/baffles rather than a traditional bubble plate system. If you imagine a bubble plate is like running the hundred meter hurdles, it has lots of resistance, our Aroma Max is more like a winding road, we still achieve huge levels of reflux and produce a clean spirit, but there is less resistance which allows us to keep the flavour and nose that could typically be stripped when using a traditional bubble plate column. Low wines are stripped using the pot and we finish the run on the Aroma Max. We do tend to finish off the run on the pot to draw some more punchy flavours over too.”.
The first run happens on the pot component only and it comes out at around 40-44% ABV. The low wines are then rested for 3 days before undergoing the second distillation. For the stripping run, as John said, they use either only the column component or both the pot and column, depending on the flavour profile. The resulting yield is around 220 litres clocking in at 83% ABV which is then rested for 10 days before being slowly reduced and bottled.
During my visit rum was flowing from the still so I had to have a little taste. Maybe it’s just the fact that trying rum directly off the still is a whole experience in itself, but it was absolutely delicious!
Goldstone have a range of rums, some flavoured and some unflavoured, but regardless of the expression, they do not add sugar to any of them. Their range consists of a White Rum (40% ABV), a Sussex Overproof Rum (57% ABV), an Amber Rum (their white rum with caramel added), a Dark Rum (aged for 20 days using wood chips from bourbon, sherry, cognac and virgin cherry barrels), a Spiced Rum (a blend of 9 spices left to macerate in their white rum for a few days), Ginger & Lime Rum (it undergoes a 3rd distillation with fresh grated ginger and fresh lime peels) and Goldstone Coffee (a mix of coffee from Honduras & Colombia and vanilla beans, cold brewed, mixed with their white rum and bottled at 20% ABV).
My personal favourites were the White Rum and the Sussex Overproof. They both have a certain funk to them, with grassy, savoury and moreish notes and they also make some great Daiquiris.
Ageing
Besides the “fast ageing” Goldstone does with wood chips for their Dark Rum, which was a decision made out of popular demand and necessity, they don’t currently mature anything in barrels. John did tell me he’s looking into it as he wants to lay down their first casks this year.
Sustainability
Goldstone Distillery uses plastic free packaging and recyclable materials for their bottles (such as bio-degradable caps). They also use electric vehicles for deliveries and recycle as much as their waste as possible. For example, the leftover spices used for their spiced rum are used by a local marmalade producer to create a spiced rum marmalade. Also their waste heads and tails are used to make a bespoke rum for Gung-Ho bar in Brighton.
As I mentioned, there will be a few things happening at Goldstone this year, such as looking into maturing rum on a more long-term basis as well as getting that very old ferment distilled and casked. They are also planning to potentially extend their unsweetened flavoured rums range. John told me he’s happy to take requests, so get in touch with them. Also if you’re simply looking to create something for your own bar, brand or simply personal, they have the option to create a bespoke rum for you.
My visit at Goldstone was absolutely fantastic and chatting rum with John is always very interesting. We did a tasting with all his rum range and he also allowed me to sample the early stages of his rapid aged Dark Rum as it was in an experimental phase at the time. You’ll hear me say this a lot when it comes to the British rum distilleries I’ve visited, but it was a very entertaining and informative experience.
As per usual, I will encourage everyone to support these small producers, and the same goes for Goldstone Distillery. You can follow their socials (Instagram and Facebook) to stay up to date and/or buy one of their expressions. If you’re in the area, book a distillery tour (or a Rum School session) and see for yourself what Goldstone Rum is all about.
Speaking of distillery tours, John told me that he will offer a free tour to the first 20 people that follow the Goldstone Instagram and share this post on their IG story (make sure tag both me and Goldstone in it for tracking). I think this is a pretty good opportunity to see them making rum with your own eyes!
Many thanks to John Bowell for all his enthusiastic hospitality and geeky rum conversations!
Cheers!