The Oxford Artisan Distillery (TOAD, previously known as The Spirit of TOAD) is the first ever legal distillery in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is the first certified organic "grain-to-glass" distillery in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, covering all parts of the distillery process. The distillery is located at the top end of South Park,

Headington Headington is an eastern suburb of Oxford, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames valley below, and bordering Marston to the north-west, Cowley to the south, and Barton and Risinghurst to the east. Th ...

, in the Old Depot of

Oxford City Council Oxford City Council is the lower-tier local government authority for the city of Oxford in England, providing such services as leisure centres and parking. Social Services, Education and Highways services (amongst others) are provided by Oxfor ...

at the former Cheney Farm. It was founded in 2017 by Tom Nicolson, Cory Mason, and Tagore Ramoutar, distilling

rye whisky Rye whiskey can refer to two different, but related, types of whiskey: * American rye whiskey, which is similar to bourbon whiskey, but must be distilled from at least 51 percent rye grain * Canadian whisky, which is often referred to as (and o ...

, gin, and

vodka Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...

. Shares were offered to the public in 2017. Four

organic farm Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...

s close to

supply the distillery with rye,

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, and

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

. The distillery uses ancient species of grains. Nautilus still, The Oxford Artisan Distillery - DSC03523

The largest

still A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been use ...

at the distillery is nicknamed "

Nautilus The nautilus (, ) is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae. The nautilus is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina. It comprises six living species in ...

" and has a capacity of 2,400 litres, with a column of 42 plates in two parts. A smaller still with a 500-litre capacity is known as " Nemo". The stills are named after the submarine and its captain in the Jules Verne 1870 science fiction novel ''

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (french: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-J ...

''. Both were built by

South Devon Railway Engineering The South Devon Railway (SDR) is a heritage railway from Totnes to Buckfastleigh in Devon. Mostly running alongside the River Dart, it was initially known as the Dart Valley Railway. The railway is now operated by the South Devon Railway Trust, ...

and are in a steampunk style, made of

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

. TOAD's gin has been judged among the top hundred available. The distillery is a craft gin maker. Early in 2020, Dave Smith took over as chairman from Neil Brown. Later in 2020, the distillery attained organic certification. The distillery was shortlisted for the ''Sustainable Use of Raw Materials Award'' in the 2019 Footprint Drinks Sustainability Awards. The distillery's products were judged as among the best food and drink from Oxfordshire in 2020. Tasting selection, The Oxford Artisan Distillery - DSC03499

Tasting selection, The Oxford Artisan Distillery - DSC03499

The distillery produces its own Oxford Rye Organic Dry Gin and Oxford Rye Organic Vodka. The distillery also uses its dry gin to produce a Dam Sloe Gin made from wild

damson The damson () or damson plum ('' Prunus domestica'' subsp. ''insititia'', or sometimes ''Prunus insititia''),M. H. Porche"Sorting ''Prunus'' names" in "Multilingual multiscript plant names database, University of Melbourne. Plantnames.unimelb.e ...

s and

sloe ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalisation (biology), naturalized ...

. In 2018, the distillery launched its Oxford Physic Gin in collaboration with the

University of Oxford Botanic Garden The University of Oxford Botanic Garden is the oldest botanic garden in Great Britain and one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world. The garden was founded in 1621 as a physic garden growing plants for medicinal research. Today it conta ...

, using ingredients grown in the garden, and sold at the garden. Later in 2018, an Ashmolean Dry Gin was launed in collection with the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, featuring

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spice ...

s from the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

to reflect the museums collections. Early in 2020, the distillery started to produce a pink gin liqueur. With the coming of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the distillery also started to produce its own

hand sanitiser Hand sanitizer (also known as hand antiseptic, hand disinfectant, hand rub, or handrub) is a liquid, gel or foam generally used to kill many viruses/bacteria/microorganisms on the hands. In most settings, hand washing with soap and water is gen ...

in 2020. Also in 2020, the distillery started to produce an organic gin for Prince Charles, using herbs from his garden at

Highgrove House Highgrove House is the family residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. It lies southwest of Tetbury in Gloucestershire, England. Built in the late 18th century, Highgrove and its estate were owned by various families until it was ...

, stocked at

Fortnum & Mason Fortnum & Mason (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an upmarket department store in Piccadilly, London, with additional stores at The Royal Exchange, St Pancras railway station, Heathrow Airport in London and K11 Musea In Hong ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In Spring 2021, the distillery launched its

, produced by the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

master distiller, Chico Rosa. Barn building, The Oxford Artisan Distillery - DSC03494

The distillery includes a Grade II listed barn building, listed in 1972 and now used as a bar and

tasting room Dégustation is the careful, appreciative tasting of various food, focusing on the gustatory system, the senses, high culinary art and good company. Dégustation is more likely to involve sampling small portions of all of a chef's signature dish ...

serving the distillery's products.

References

External

TOAD website
2017 establishments in England Companies established in 2017 Distilleries in England Microdistilleries Companies based in Oxford Grade II listed buildings in Oxford Culture in Oxford Gins Whisky distillers British vodkas {{drink-stub