New distillery opens in Nottinghamshire offering good quality rum
Dropworks is the newest distillery to open its doors so Nottingham World went along to sample the goods and meet the creator
We are definitely fond of a drink in this city as evidenced by our wonderful bars and clubs but there are plenty of distilleries that also call Nottingham home. From beers brewed in retail parks to gin distilleries, there are lots to choose from.
Dropworks is the newest distillery to open its doors in Nottingham but it might just be our very first, and only rum distillery. Lewis Hayes was inspired to create the brand after spending over 12 years in the hospitality and drinks sector. He feels passionate about rum in particular which gave him the inspiration for Dropworks.
The team held a cocktail party at Six Richmond House to celebrate the launch of the first product - clear drop rum. The cocktails were a chance to try the new product with unusual drinks such as the Baked Goods which featured Dropworks clear drop rum, super banana, vegan yoghurt and croissant foam. The strawberry daiquiris were a clear favourite with the Nottingham World team.
“I own a rum bar in London with over 700 signatures rums in there. It's all no nonscene, good quality products and after doing this for so long, it reached a point where I wanted to accelerate it. Rum is one of the most misunderstood spirit categories there is,” he said speaking with Nottingham World.
“It’s one of the most versatile spirit categories there is as you can get some that taste like vodka or others that taste like whiskeys. Rum is so broad but most people’s initial experience with it might be one product where they think, well I don’t like this yet they misunderstand the category.”
Lewis added: “Rum has also been its own worst nightmare at times where there is an awful lot of sugar added to products and age statements are mismanaged where consumers think they are drinking something older than they are. It's also hard to take seriously when it's commonly sold on pirates and sea monsters but there are some unbelievably delicious liquids out there and it's undervalued.”
Lewis’s passion for rum is evident not just in how he believes the spirit needs to be given a second sample for people but also, in the chance he has taken on opening the biggest rum distillery in Europe, tucked away in Worksop.
“This idea of building a distillery has been a long time coming as I wanted to make high-quality produce and price it affordably to really get the word out about how versatile it is. It doesn’t have to be super expensive but it can be utterly delicious,” he said.
“Dropworks is all about doing different drops and releases with high-quality liquid. Someone might like a light style closer to a vodka but someone else may not. We will do releases whereby there will be a flavour out there for everybody. We want to make a broad range of styles and that’s why we are calling it Dropworks.”
The company are based on the Welbeck Estate with a water source coming from directly underneath. The private estate space is a beautiful 3000 acres which means there is plenty of room for future expansions and barrel storage. The distillery has been a year in the making and there are still plenty of plans for things Lewis would like to do.
“We’ve been building this facility for over a year and a half but there are lots of things we want to do. I’ve been raising funds and awareness for it for three years now. We started in the middle of the pandemic which was when I realised if I wanted to do it properly then it needs to be of a scale. The larger you go, the more you can make your product affordable for people,” he explained.
“We wanted to get the word out there on a scale that could change the industry and have a positive impact. We’ve been super keen to work with people from the area including local bars, restaurants and artists as well.”
The idea is that artists, illustrators and graffiti artists could create new labels or campaigns using their art.
“WE feel heavily connected to the arts as this is our way of expressing ourselves. Whenever we do a drop, we want to collaborate with poets who might write something to go inside the box or people who can design new labels for limited releases. We may have musicians who can play at a launch party. As we are starting here in Nottingham, it's very important to me to work with local artists.”