The thought for The Oxford Artisan Distillery first came to owner Tom Nicholson’s mind in 2012 when he thought of starting a craft distillery of his own. Venturing forward and growing his thoughts more, Tom met the head distiller Cory Mason for the first time in June 2013. By November 2014, the decision was taken to bring in heritage grain for production purposes from one exclusive source, John Letts. This began the journey of The Oxford Artisan Distillery.

At the London Spirits Competition held in March, 2018 two spirits from The Oxford Artisan Distillery were awarded with two medals. These two spirits that won the medals were:

Oxford Dry Gin: The Oxford Dry Gin with an overall score of 88 points from the judges was awarded a silver medal at the 2018 London Spirits Competition. A classic juniper-forward gin, Oxford Dry Gin contains layers of bright citrus and aromatic botanicals. The gin is created in hand-built copper stills using exclusive population of heritage grain. A fine gin created field to bottle for a rich experience.

Oxford Rye Vodka: The Oxford Rye Vodka was awarded a bronze medal at the competition after scoring 73 points from the judges. This particular vodka is crafted using populations of sustainably grown heritage grain. A pure and smooth vodka, the Oxford Rye Vodka has a clean finish of delicate spice.

It was in October 2015 that The Oxford Artisan Distillery became a legal entity. Between October and December 2016, the locations for the distillery were finalized with the Old Depot becoming the location of the distillery and the stills being housed in a barn. The handmade oak fermenting vats were installed and by May 2017 the distillery set up was completed. In June 2017, the fermenting of the first batch of heritage grain began and in July of the same year The Oxford Artisan Distillery (TOAD) launched their spirits, the Oxford Dry Gin and Oxford Rye Vodka.