DANCING SANDS

The Dancing Sands journey begins with a love story that takes us from the UK and the United States and ends with one of New Zealand’s most creative and established distilleries – Dancing Sands. Founders Sarah and Ben first hit it off when they met through their corporate jobs. After managing a long distance relationship between New York and London they decided to start a new chapter together in New Zealand. Eventually, Sarah and Ben Bonoma both left their corporate careers and took a leap into the unknown to establish Dancing Sands Distillery in 2016. Trading the corporate for the creative, and spreadsheets for stills, the Bonomas risked it all to follow their dream: producing world-class spirits in what is the most beautiful place on the planet.

Like all great partnerships, Sarah and Ben are more than the sum of their parts. Sarah’s cutting scientific mind (she has a MSc in Genetics) is matched by Ben’s flavour-driven creativity. The result? A dynamic distilling duo on a mission to bring a part of Golden Bay to the rest of New Zealand, and the world.

Golden Bay is a location like no other.

It’s one of the most remote places in New Zealand, and as such, still enjoys a largely untouched environment.

The nearby mountains are filled with rich minerals – including gold, which gave the bay its name, and brought people from far and wide to this corner of the South Island. Marble and limestone mountains surround the region and make up the bedrock of its aquifers delivering the water in the region as some of the purest on the planet – perfect for making gin.

These days, the bay is home to a small, welcoming and close-knit community. Together we’ve survived fires, floods and landslides, maintaining this special part of the world as one. Artists and artisans rub shoulders with farmers and fishermen, and the abundant natural resources have made the region a hotspot for high quality cuisine and drink.

Ben and his wife and business partner, Sarah, run the business from Golden Bay and Wellington, New Zealand. Together, Ben and Sarah are close to ying and yang. Where Ben is creative and a bit footloose, Sarah is disciplined and cautious. Their working styles are different enough to complement each other and keep the balance. They have a passion for gin and fell in love over gin martinis with blue cheese olives.