Dancing Sands Distillery
Dancing Sands Distillery
Dancing Sands Distillery
5
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Dancing Sands Distillery is a brick & mortar distillery with a cellar door where you can drop in for a free tasting and to learn more about how we make our products. You can view the still and our production area from the cellar door and chat to our friendly staff to answer any questions you may have. Our Cellar Door opening hours are 10AM – 4PM Monday – Saturday.
Duration: < 1 hour
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
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5.0
49 reviews
Excellent
46
Very good
2
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
1
swampykevin
Mairangi Bay, New Zealand359 contributions
Mar 2022 • Couples
We popped in with no intention of buying, we were just curious about Dancing Sands.
So, James gave us an in-depth background and tasting and also took time to show us the distillery.
The variety of gins is remarkable and some of the tastes were great, some no so but as James explained you'll like it or not, depends on your personal taste.
We bought four bottles and they are being shipped to us; a huge help as we are still traveling for another week.
Thanks James for your attention, knowledge and assistance.
Great gin, great place.
So, James gave us an in-depth background and tasting and also took time to show us the distillery.
The variety of gins is remarkable and some of the tastes were great, some no so but as James explained you'll like it or not, depends on your personal taste.
We bought four bottles and they are being shipped to us; a huge help as we are still traveling for another week.
Thanks James for your attention, knowledge and assistance.
Great gin, great place.
Written 8 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for visiting us! Great to hear we could send you away with some bottles ready for when you get home!
Written 10 March 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lynne
1 contribution
Feb 2022 • Family
Came in to taste and buy some gin. Was ignored for a while before being told we couldn't taste as there were two other people there. Very disappointing as we'd made a special trip. The woman was quite abrupt and only interested in the two people that were already there. Don't waste your time with this place, instead try the kiwi spirit distillery. Wonderful friendly service, we happily spent our money there instead.
Written 19 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Lynne
We are really sorry to see this review you posted on Saturday of your experience at our Cellar Door. Our team pride themselves on delivering great customer service and we're sorry you left feeling we had fallen short of your expectations. However your review doesn’t give the full picture of what happened.
When you arrived at our Cellar Door on Saturday we already had two groups in tasting and another booked to arrive in 10 minutes. Covid guidelines require we limit the number of patrons in the Cellar Door to ensure social distancing, and so the team member serving had asked if you would be able to return in 20 minutes when the existing groups had finished so she could offer you a proper tasting as there was no space at either bar. You didn’t want to wait for a tasting, and your response was to raise your voice and express your displeasure to our team member. After you left one of the other members of your party offered an apology to our team member for the way you spoke to her.
We appreciate you had travelled to come and visit us, and we appreciate that sometimes the Covid guidelines can be frustrating. Our team member did the right thing in adhering to the guidelines we have set them for serving in the Cellar Door. We’re sorry you felt so aggrieved as to leave our business a one-sided review that is neither fair or accurate. We’ve contacted you directly to see if we can discuss this matter further but you haven’t responded.
Our team works so hard day in and day out to give their best for every customer who comes through our doors, as you’ll see from the fantastic reviews we have across Trip Advisor and Google. We’re incredibly proud of how they represent Dancing Sands, and we’re proud of how our team member stuck to the guidelines we’ve set out when you visited on Saturday.
We hope you’ll return to Golden Bay again and give us another try in the future.
Written 21 February 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Megan P
12 contributions
Nov 2020 • Couples
Popped in to peruse the gin selection on our way through to Farewell Spit and was offered a free tasting. Well and truly worth the stop. The bartender was so friendly and knowledgeable. Sad to miss the Murderer's Bay rum but will have to pop back in when it's ready next year. Left feeling much jollier than when I walked in. Thanks so much!
Written 8 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for the visit Megan, glad you enjoyed the tasting!
Written 16 November 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Cesar P
Wellington, New Zealand2 contributions
Jan 2021 • Family
Great tasting room with Gins, Whiskey, Vodkas and Blue Agave Tequila. Mellisa was an awesome host and took you through the whole offering. Highly recommend a stop, taste and a chat.
Written 18 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PaulDM8
Auckland, New Zealand133 contributions
Dec 2020 • Couples
Was never a gin fan, but we were staying at the Ratanui Lodge and they have a lounge that promotes gin as there liquor of choice. There were a number of NZ gins to choose from. Dancing Sands were our favourites. Visited their distillery. We even bought some to send home...no extra charge for courier. We’ll be buying more and directly from them.
Written 25 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for visiting the Cellar Door, glad you enjoyed our gin!
Written 24 January 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Galeo7
Auckland, New Zealand80 contributions
Apr 2021 • Couples
Was really keen to visit this place as I had read about the gin and the bottles looked amazing. Although it was only 10 in the morning I decided to try a gin tasting (measures are quite small!). As suspect I loved the Sauvignon and also the Dry but the others are also very interesting. The lady taking the tasting was great & included a couple of discount cards for future purchases. Just check opening times as they weren’t open Mon at this time of year.
Written 21 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
cliffandlouise
Christchurch, New Zealand2 contributions
Jan 2018 • Couples
We entered the tasting room of the distillery and were immediately impressed by the display inside. Sarah invited us to taste any of their products and talked us through the four gins that we tried. She was warm and friendly and the gin sublime. We bought two bottles including the barrel aged gin which is outstanding. A great experience that we will have again next time we visit Takaka.
Written 7 January 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rach L
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam38 contributions
Jan 2017 • Couples
I got given a bottle of Murderer's Bay rum as a gift and had to make a stop at dancing sands while visiting Takaka. A very well presented display of spirits. The man who served us taught us lots about the distilling process. It was also nice to try the spirits available. The gin and aged gin were my favs.
Written 16 January 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ben and Sarah B
Wellington9 contributions
Dec 2015 • Couples
We visited the Village Distillery which located just behind the Wholemeal Cafe and they have a cool distillery to check out. They make great products and definitely worth checking out! The free tastings are delicious.
Written 3 April 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Logan K
2 contributions
Oct 2021 • Family
First off let me start by saying I have made a TripAdvisor account specifically to recommend Dancing Sands, it's that good!
Wow what an experience. Awesome set up and facility with some people who are REALLY keen and clued up on their gin!! The knowledge and passion in the whole place is unreal. Of course the gin is superb too, have bought a few to sample and no doubt going to be ordering some online later on!
Really cannot recommend this enough, only went there today and already I'm recommending it to so many people! It's worth making the trip to Takaka just to visit believe me!
Wow what an experience. Awesome set up and facility with some people who are REALLY keen and clued up on their gin!! The knowledge and passion in the whole place is unreal. Of course the gin is superb too, have bought a few to sample and no doubt going to be ordering some online later on!
Really cannot recommend this enough, only went there today and already I'm recommending it to so many people! It's worth making the trip to Takaka just to visit believe me!
Written 21 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wow, thank you for this fantastic review. We really appreciate you taking the time to share your visit experience. Our team are amazing and so passionate about what they do, we're pleased so saw that first hand on your visit
Written 29 November 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
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