It was around that time that a group of investors sat down and talked about what projects held potential for the area, and how they could help the area survive the loss of hundreds of mining jobs.<\/p>\n

“Sussex is more than a mining town, and we considered several things,” said John Dunfield, the master distiller and founding member of the Sussex Craft Distillery.<\/p>\n

“The craft brewing industry has really taken off in the Maritimes\u00a0\u2014 it’s a $100 million market. There’s a couple places that started up, but still less than five, and 10 per cent of the market is products made right here in the province.”<\/p>\n

‘A natural fit’<\/h2>\n

Dunfield said looking around the area, it was\u00a0easy to find the raw materials such as grains and fruit that are\u00a0needed to make spirits.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The distillery is starting out with two products: a white rum and a maple rum liqueur. (John Dunfield)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Adding\u00a0to the fact that Sussex has a history of providing drinks to the market, including\u00a0Sussex Golden Ginger Ale, “it all seemed like a natural fit,” said Dunfield.<\/p>\n

The distillery is starting out with two products: a white rum, made with fresh\u00a0Crosby’s molasses, and a Northern Comfort\u00a0maple rum liqueur, which is blended with Steeves\u00a0maple syrup and other spices and aged with roasted sugar maple hardwood.<\/p>\n

Start small<\/h2>\n

Dunfield\u00a0said it was a “daunting” process to get the operation off the ground.<\/p>\n

They decided to start small with two pieces of equipment called a pot still, and 100 litre flute still.<\/p>\n

“We thought this would be a great way to get an understanding of the market, how operations work, what the regulatory environment is like, and figure out the recipes of course,” said Dunfield.<\/p>\n

“The whole idea is to bring a quality product, start with the best ingredients you can find, and then ensure your process all the way through is taking great\u00a0care and<\/p>\n

attention toward the quality product at the end.”<\/p>\n

Open house<\/h2>\n

In the future, the group hopes\u00a0to add seasonal liqueurs, using blueberries, strawberries, sea buckthorn, and other fruits grown in the area.<\/p>\n

They also want to capitalize on locally grown grains to make whiskey and gin.<\/p>\n

“There’s a product we have in the works, it’s an alpha vodka, and it’s made with whey protein,” said Dunfield.<\/p>\n

“It seems to be a natural tie-in with Sussex being a dairy farming area, and a central location for dairy products.”<\/p>\n

The Sussex Craft Distillery will debut its first spirits at a\u00a0grand opening at its location on 119\u00a0Cougle\u00a0Rd.\u00a0in Sussex Corner Thursday evening.<\/p>\n

“All are welcome to come get a sample of what we’re bringing to the market,” said\u00a0Dunfield.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Celeste, Peter Norrad, Marcus de Winter, Carmen Blois, Grant Corey, John Dunfield, Greg McCollum, and Durck de Winter make up the Sussex Craft Distillery. (John Dunfield) By\u00a0Sarah Trainor,\u00a0CBC News\u00a0Posted: Dec 13, 2017 Sussex Craft Distillery will debut its first spirits \u2014 a rum and a liqueur \u2014 Thursday evening A Sussex-area group\u00a0is expanding New […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":-1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"yoast_head":"\n