The Oxford Artisan Distillery was founded in 2017 by Tom Nicolson, Cory Mason, and Tagore Ramoutar, distilling
rye whisky,
gin, and
vodka. Shares were offered to the public in 2017. Four
organic farms close to
Oxford supply the distillery with
rye,
wheat, and
barley. The largest
still at the distillery is nicknamed "
Nautilus" 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. Both were built by
South Devon Railway Engineering and are in a
steampunk style, made of
copper. 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. 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
damsons and
sloe. In 2018, the distillery launched its Oxford Physic Gin in collaboration with the
University of Oxford Botanic Garden, 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
spices from the
Middle East and
Asia 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 distillery also started to produce its own
hand sanitiser in 2020. Also in 2020, the distillery started to produce an organic gin for
Prince Charles, using herbs from his garden at
Highgrove House, stocked at
Fortnum & Mason in
London. In Spring 2021, the distillery launched its
rye whisky, produced by the
Portuguese master distiller, Chico Rosa. The distillery includes a
Grade II listed barn building, listed in 1972 and now used as a
bar and
tasting room serving the distillery's products. In 2024 the company was re-named Fielden and announced it would relocate to a larger site in Yorkshire, ceasing production in Oxford. In 2025 Oxford City Council awarded the lease of the site to The Oxford Spirit Group, a new company founded by TOAD co-founder Tom Nicolson, with plans to bring the distillery back into use and open to visitors in the summer of 2026. ==References==