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‘Grain-to-glass’ distillery opens in Oxford
A new ‘grain-to-glass’ distillery has opened in the UK city of Oxford, claiming to be the only distillery in the world to use populations of sustainably grown ancient heritage grains.
The Oxford Artisan Distillery will produce gin, absinthe, vodka and rye whiskey
The Oxford Artisan Distillery (TOAD), which opens its doors to the public today (27 July), will produce a range of spirits including gin, absinthe, vodka and rye whiskey. It claims to be one of only a handful of distilleries in the UK to prepare its own neutral spirit on site.
TOAD uses genetically diverse populations of rye, wheat and barley grown exclusively for the distillery on farms within a 50-mile radius of Oxford.
The ancient heritage grains were revived by archaeo-botanist John Letts and grown sustainably in ways last used in the 19th century in 150 acres of bio-diverse fields, known as land races, close to Oxford.
TOAD founder Tom Nicolson said: “Intensive farming has had a catastrophic effect on wildlife. It depletes the soil and contributes to global warming.
“Scientists are also linking pesticides to illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. There has never been a more urgent need to explore less toxic and more nurturing ways of growing our food.”
TOAD approached Paul Pridham from South Devon Railway to produce their first still. Pridham’s team created two stills: Nautilus (2,200 litre) and Nemo (500 litre), named after Jules Verne’s fictional submarine and its captain. An 18th century Grade II-listed threshing barn will initially house TOAD’s casks and grain, with plans for a new barn to house the distillery.
Together with two five-metre, 40-plate copper distillation columns, TOAD anticipates the stills will produce around 1,000 bottles of gin and 750 bottles of rye whiskey from every tonne of grain.
Nicolson added: “So many things are mass-produced – we at TOAD are trying to break the mould. We are entirely focused on creating really great spirits while fighting for the heart and soul of true craft distilling and taking our time to get it right every step of the way.
“We really care about provenance and it’s our devotion to craft distilling which will, I believe, mark the difference between us and other distilleries.”
There are also plans for a visitor centre and restaurant at the distillery site in South Parks.
Available to purchase at the distillery, Oxford Dry Gin and Oxford Rye Vodka will retail at £39.50 and £36.50, respectively.