Life on the Farm

The clock is ticking. In a world of mass consumption, growing populations outstrip our planet’s natural resources 1, success is measured by continued growth2, biodiversity loss is exceeding planetary boundaries. There’s an abundance of climate change data at our finger tips3, we need to act now. When do we draw the line?

At Warner’s Distillery, we try to tread lightly on our farmland, always striving to give back more than we take. We recognise we have an impact socially and environmentally, we want to be part of the solution and that’s why we’re constantly working towards a more sustainable life on our farm. 

Life on falls farm

 

Real tastes better

Real tastes better, there’s no two ways about it, and we’re incredibly proud of our all-natural range of farm-grown spirits. Achieving it, however, is bloomin’ hard work. We graft around the clock just so that we can harvest our freshly grown botanicals and ingredients at the absolute peak of perfection, resulting in our range of globally award winning 4 farm grown drinks. We don’t take the quick route, the easy option (although life would be far simpler if we did). We never use synthetic or artificial flavourings. Just the best ingredients & processes to create cracking gins, 0% Botanic Garden Spirits and botanical rums.

Why fly imported lemons and oranges in from around the globe for those all-important citrus notes in our spirits when the there’s a far better, more sustainable option right on your doorstep? By sourcing freshly discarded citrus peels from a local fruit factory, we’re not only re-using waste destined for landfill but also massively reducing the carbon footprint in our supply chain. Growing acres of lemon-thyme, lemon verbena and lemon balm on our farm has enabled us to recreate exotic citrus notes using native botanicals that we’re now self-sufficient in for some of our spirits, including our epic Lemon Balm gin.

We all know how good home-grown tastes. taste a home-grown tomato to a shop-bought, mass produced one. There’s no comparison, is there? And that’s just one of the reasons we do what we do but the benefits don’t stop there. Many botanicals are also superfoods for pollinators 5. As the farm is diversifying from cattle grazing to a market garden style of growing botanicals, a monoculture of grass within grazing pasture is turning into an oasis of flowering herbs. This provides a huge boost to the forage for pollinating insects. These invertebrates are food for the rare farmland birds, so managing the land and crops for flavour is beneficial for wildlife and people.

As members of 1 % for the Planet, 6 we’re dedicating 1% of total business revenue to environmental projects that make a real difference, including conservation charities who protect habitats and species here on our farm and further afield in the UK.

Our continued work to improve our social and environmental performance also means we’re now well on our way to becoming fully-fledged members of the B-Corps network 7.

 

 Let's all make a difference

 We will continue to focus on responsible sourcing, consumption & production. It’s what we need to do to maintain a sustainable way of life at our farm-based distillery. Change starts at home, we all need to make a change & it doesn’t matter how small or insignificant you may think it. We can all make a difference so go on, get on out there & make that change.

 

Resources:

  1.  Sustainable consumption and production – United Nations Sustainable Development
  2. The Madness of Never-Ending Economic Growth | HuffPost UK (huffingtonpost.co.uk)
  3. https://www.theccc.org.uk/2021/06/16/uk-struggling-to-keep-pace-with-climate-change-impacts/
  4. https://www.warnersdistillery.com/blogs/news/so-our-london-drys-won-a-masters-award
  5. https://www.soilassociation.org/take-action/growing-at-home/bee-organic/bee-friendly-flowers-herbs/
  6. https://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/
  7. https://bcorporation.net/