St Martin's family to start rum distillery
A Scillonian family that have run a farm on St Martin’s for almost 70 years have been granted ‘approval in principle’ to establish the first island-based distillery.
Carron Farm has supplied island produce to the local community and mainland markets since 1953 when George Walder and Peter Stevens took on the Duchy of Cornwall farm tenancy and started to grow scented Narcissi.
Under the tenure of George’s son Stephen, the farm has supplied milk, beef, fish and shellfish and more recently SC Salt. Now, inspired by the island’s heritage and its community, the family is diversifying to create a premium rum using locally grown ingredients.
When the distillery comes into operation later in 2019 it will be the result of six years of planning and investment that will provide Andrew and Hannah Walder, the next generation of the long-established Scillonian family, with a sustainable livelihood that will benefit the local economy and enable the farmland to continue to be utilised effectively.
State of the art Genio distillery equipment, the first of its kind for the Isles of Scilly, arrived on St Martin's in early February 2019 and is currently being installed in a newly renovated outbuilding at Carron Farm.
The crafting of the end product has now begun and Andrew, Hannah, Stephen and Julia look forward to involving the whole island in the exciting project over the coming months.
A rum-tasting evening will be held in April, hosted by Dom and Emily at The Sevenstones Inn. During the evening, the team will launch the new rum brand, describe the journey so far and explain the unique distillation process.
Find out more or sign up to their mailing list to receive progress updates via their website http://distillery.carronfarm.co.uk/.