DYNAMIC, driven and authentic – capturing the region’s image and identity in each sip.
When Rodney Milford (65) and his wife, Gerda (64), launched One33 Craft Distillery and Cheesery in St Francis Bay in October, last year, they had never worked at a distillery before, let alone had any experience in the liquor industry – apart from a short craft distilling course.
This only ignited their curiosity to experiment and learn the secrets of the craft.
Even if it is only on small scale.
Rodney smiles: “I believe that if you have a passion for something, which in our case is telling a story by making craft liquor, then you can achieve anything – if you put your mind and hard work to it. Even if you are on pension.”
With that passion to succeed, the couple began pouring their time and enthusiasm into crafting rum of uncompromising character and quality.
While their initial focus was on rum, they soon branched out to include gin and vodka.
Although, not without several experiments and failures. Now, two years later, the distillery is home to craft rum (white, dark and black), gin and vodka.
“Distilling is definitely in my blood, even though I never planned to make it a career,” says Rodney.
Add to that unique handmade cheese – Gerda’s speciality.
Inspiration
Why the name One33?
Gerda laughs, “It is our house number.
“We always said, should nobody want to buy our products, we would enjoy the rum and cheese on the beach. And if we get drunk, people will know where to take us – to One33, our home.”
For Rodney and Gerda it was never just about the rum, gin or even the vodka – they wanted to create a product that would tell a story.
A story inspired by the freshness and beauty of the region, as well as by the early inhabitants of which the various archaeological sites with traces from hundreds of thousands of years ago, is a silent witness to this.
Therefore, each hand-crafted bottle comes with a small booklet in recognition of the lighthouses and shipwrecks along the Eastern Cape shoreline.
Even the names have a true local flavour: Sea Vista Gin and The Village Vodka. Add to this a passion for sustainability. Gerda, who made sure they built a business that is in tune with its environment, says, “The One33 range is also available in recycled bottles – we like to give wine bottles a second life.
“Re-using bottles makes a small, but very important, contribution to reducing waste and energy. We collect up to 60 used bottles a day.
“Furthermore, not only does it support local job creation through the recycling of the glass bottles – including sorting according to size, washing, sterilising, labeling and recapping – but the cost-savings are also passed down to the community.”
Not stopping there, the water used in the distillation process comes from an on-site borehole, drawing water from the nearby Sand River, while the distilled botanicals are used by local farmers in their animal feed.
From rum to gin and vodka
According to Rodney, the One33 rum – distilled by using a pot still and purified in a rectifying column – is blended from two types of South African molasses and fermented by using two types of yeast to give it a unique flavour and depth.
“One33 White is a smooth, light bodied rum and slightly sweet in flavour, while our award-winning One33 Dark is aged in small Virginia and French oak barrels for 133 days – giving it a rich, textured finish that appeals to both rum and whisky drinkers.
“One33 Dark received a gold medal in the 2019 Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards.”
One33 Black is a mixed spirit using One33 White that is aged in glass carboys and charred oak chips, and blended with a fortified wine-based spirit.
“One33 Black is refreshing and slightly sweet with a full balance of flavour and aromas,” he says.
When it comes to the gin, the distillery leans toward classic gin botanicals – keeping to the more original gin recipe.
“We combine botanicals like juniper, liquorice root, and coriander with One33’s signature Khoisan Sour Fig,” says Rodney.
“One33 Sea Vista gets its name from the Sea Vista settlement in the St Francis Bay area, and the label incorporates artwork from a local Sea Vista artist.”
Handmade cheese
While Rodney is the master distiller, Gerda is the artisan cheesemaker – starting with 15 litres of milk, which quickly grew to 45 litres of milk a day (making 4kg to 5kg of cheese).
“I could not believe the demand for a product that is pure: without any preservatives, colourants and excess flavourants,” Gerda says.
Her cheese range includes matured cheddar, sweet milk, merlot, coffee, chives and onion, pepper, sage, cumin, feta and haloumi.
A kaleidoscope of colours on a cheese plate: black, yellow, orange, white and purple.
“When you close your eyes and take a bite of the merlot cheese, you are not sure whether you are drinking the cheese or eating the wine,” says Gerda.
She, furthermore, makes yoghurt, jam and flatbread.
One33 Craft Distillery and Cheesery is a member of the Southern African Craft Distilling Institute (SACDI).
“A new certification body, the Real Craft Certification Authority, was formed in July 2019 with the aim of certifying genuine ‘craft’ producers of gin and other products,” says Rodney.
“I think this will be a huge shake-up of the craft alcohol business and is finally going to give both the consumer and the retailers the information they require to make an informed decision about the products they are buying and selling.”
All One33 distillery spirits are available at the Village Square Tops and the Blue Bottle Liquor Store in St Francis Bay, as well as online at the One33 online shop, Copper Wine & Craft Spirits and Takealot.
For more information, contact Gerda at 082 683 9181 or send an email to gerda@one33.biz.
Alternatively, visit www.one33craftrum.co.za or the One33 Craft Rum Facebook Page.
