Sustainable Gin
Sustainability at Wild Fox Distillery
As a small batch distillery set on our family farm in Lancashire, sustainability isn’t a marketing trend for us – it’s simply part of how we’ve always lived and worked. Farming teaches you to respect the land, use what you have around you and waste as little as possible. That same approach carries through into everything we do at Wild Fox Distillery. From carefully sourcing botanicals to producing our gin in small batches, we focus on making quality British gin while looking after the countryside we’re proud to call home. For us, creating great gin and caring for our environment go hand in hand.
Harvesting
At Wild Fox Distillery we love making the most of what grows naturally around our Lancashire farm. Many of the botanicals used in our gins come straight from the fields and hedgerows surrounding the distillery, keeping our ingredients local and closely connected to the land we farm.
Some of our favourite flavours actually come from plants that are often dismissed as common weeds. At Wild Fox we like to think we’re giving them a second life. Wild ingredients such as pineapple weed, dandelion and stinging nettle can produce beautifully delicate and surprising flavours in gin, and they play an important role in several of our recipes.
And when it comes to rhubarb, we’re rather proud of ours. Here’s Grandad harvesting a fresh batch from the farm – and we think it gives Yorkshire a run for its money any day.
Biomass Heating
Our distillery is heated using a biomass system powered by organic material from forestry waste. This renewable heat source keeps the distillery warm while making use of natural materials that might otherwise go to waste.
The system also heats the concrete floors throughout the distillery, creating a cosy space for visitors – something our furry four-legged friends are particularly fond of when they come along for a visit.
Water Borehole
Water plays an essential role in crafting great gin, and here on the farm we’re fortunate to have our own supply. Since installing a borehole in 2012, we’ve been able to draw fresh water directly from the land beneath us.
It’s used throughout the distilling process, from cooling the still during distillation to carefully reducing our gin to bottling strength. Using our own water source keeps the process simple, efficient and closely connected to the farm we call home.
Cardboard Re-Use
Nothing goes to waste if we can help it. Every scrap of cardboard that arrives at the distillery through deliveries is saved, torn up and reused when packing orders heading back out the door. It’s a simple way of reducing waste while making the most of the materials already coming through the distillery.
Water Reuse
Distilling requires a constant flow of cooling water through the condenser, so rather than letting it go to waste we collect and reuse it on the farm. After each distillation, the cooled water is fed back into the cow troughs for drinking. Our pregnant Holsteins are particularly fond of it – a refreshing, cool drink straight from the distillery.