Sylva Foundation Wood School has expertly crafted the commemorative boxes for a limited edition whisky, in a unique collaboration with local Oxford artisans.
To celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the Oxford Botanic Garden, The Oxford Artisan Distillery is set to launch a limited edition whisky – Black Pine Whisky – coinciding with Hobbit Day on September 22, 2023.
Inspired by ‘Tolkien’s Pine’, the whisky comes with a limited edition box or coaster, created by students of Sylva Wood School, from wood of the legendary Black Pine which grew in the Botanic Garden for nearly 200 years.
The legendary Black Pine (Pinus nigra) grew at Oxford Botanic Garden from the early 1830s until 2014 when it tragically shed two massive branches and needed to be felled. The magnificent pine was the favourite tree of JRR Tolkien, who visited the Garden regularly. In June 2021, to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Botanic Garden, HRH King Charles III planted a new Black Pine raised from a seed from the original tree.
The Oxford Artisan Distillery collaboration is with the renowned Oxford illustrator, Stanley Donwood, Oxford-based letterpress printer Richard Lawrence, and Sylva Wood School which supports a revival of Britain’s wood culture through excellence in creativity and craftsmanship using home-grown timber, stimulating innovation in design and supporting the next generation of designers and makers.
For further information, and the opportunity to sign up for the Black Pine Whisky, with commemorative box, visit The Oxford Artisan Distillery.
