4 minute read
Wild Fox Distillery
from TRACKS Issue 4
WILD FOX DISTILLERY
In February, we visited Wild Fox Distillery, in Inglewhite, Lancashire, to find out how they craft their award-winning gin.
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Aptly named Blushing Vixen, the gin was the fourth and most difficult gin to be distilled by Wild Fox. The gin is a homage to British farming, as it is the first all-natural rhubarb and elderflower gin to be produced, made entirely from grain, botanicals, fruit and water from British farms.
Established in 2019 by dairy farmers Rob and Lizzie, Wild Fox Distillery was set up as an additional business alongside the farm, and was a result of the family’s love for a good G&T. As Lizzie says, it has always been her parents' after-milking tipple! Luckily, the farm already had a wealth of botanicals that could be used within their distillation process, such as common weeds like dandelions and stinging nettles, which can be used to flavour the gin during distillation.
The copper pot still used to distil Wild Fox's award-winning gins
The process
Firstly, the distillery buys in grain spirit that is grown and distilled in the south of England, as the 650 acres of the farm are all needed for grass to provide all year round silage for the farms herd. Grain spirit is a spirit made from fermented grain, which is then mixed 50/50 with water to provide the base for the gin. All water used in the process comes from a bore hole on the farm, and is triple filtered to ensure no minerals are present that could affect the spirit. The grain spirit and water are added to a 50-litre copper pot still with added column and thumper, together with both dried and fresh botanicals from their farm. The more copper the better when distilling gin, as the copper reacts on a molecular level with the sulphurs released by the fermenting yeast present in the grain spirit. This cancels out the bitter sulphur taste and makes the gin smoother. The process of distilling also removes all of the sugar from the mix, as well as all allergens, which means the gin is completely sugar and allergen free. This is then left for 24 hours before stewed rhubarb is added, and is left to soak for an additional 24 hours, in order to extract all of the flavours which is known as steeping.
Founder of Wild Fox distillery and Farmer, Rob, forages for natural botanicals
The mix is then distilled a second time to remove any impurities that remain. The stills are heated by an electric element, enabling Rob and Lizzie to control the temperature a lot easier. Once the mix reaches 80 degrees, the liquid starts to vaporise, which then transfers to the middle section, known as the thumper. In the thumper, frozen elderflower is added which was picked on the farm during the summer months and was frozen within an hour of picking to preserve the flavour. The addition of the elderflower provides a delicate floral edge, which would have been overpowered if it was added at the same time as the rhubarb.
The vapour is then transferred to the condenser, which is surrounded by a water jacket to cool the vapour and turn it back into liquid. Inside the condenser, there are copper steps, which the vapour bounces down to enhance the flavour even more. The gin is now around 80% abv and is left to rest for a minimum of 24 hours, before water is added to lower the gin to 40% abv. A pipette of beetroot is then added to give the gin its blush pink colour. Each batch produces around 70 – 90 bottles, depending on how full the still is to start.
The distillery isn’t trying to be the biggest, but they are trying to be the best, and you can find Wild Fox gin in a variety of bars and independent retail shops. You can visit the distillery for a G&T, beer, tea or coffee, along with a slice of cake! The distillery also offers the opportunity to attend their gin school; an intimate and enlightening experience where you can learn all about the world of gin and distil your very own unique bottle to take home!
Blushing Vixen Gin – a homage to British farming
Wild Fox Distillery is open Wednesday–Friday, 10am–5pm and Saturdays 10am–3pm and is based at Lower Barker Farm, Button Street, Inglewhite, Preston, Lancashire, PR3 2LH
Tel: 01995 641136 E: spirited@wildfoxdistillery.co.uk Instagram: @wild_fox_distillery Facebook: @wildfoxdistillery
Dairy Farmers turned Distillers, Rob & Lizzie with their children
