Oxford News
Rum stocked at Jeremy Clarkson’s Cotswolds pub named best in UK
The Asthall boozer, originally called The Windmill, was bought by the former Top Gear host for around £1,000,000.
It was reopened as The Farmer’s Dog last August and has proved a popular tourist spot with fans coming to try a pint of Hawkstone.
From the get-go, Mr Clarkson vowed to only use and serve British produce at the pub, meaning that no ketchup or cola is served onsite.
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This meant rum was not on the drinks list, as traditionally, the spirit is made from molasses, which is a by-product of the sugar cane industry.
This missing spirit issue at The Farmer’s Dog was recently resolved with the introduction of Alkemy, which creates a locally grown rum.
After several years of rum production overseas, brothers Will and Rob Tapster founded the distillery in Suffolk in 2021, with the aim of producing a unique new take on the classic spirit.
Alkemy uses molasses from locally grown sugar beet, rather than imported sugar cane, to make their rum.
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Now, the rum has been praised after becoming the highest-scoring spiced rum at this year’s London Spirits Competition.
Now in its ninth year, the competition judges each entry across three weighted criteria: quality, value, and packaging.
Entries are first blind-tasted by a panel of active trade professionals, including spirits buyers, bar managers, and mixologists, before price and packaging are factored in.
To be an award winner, you need to have top-quality spirits that offer both the trade and the consumer great value for money, and you need to look good and truly stand out on the shelf and on the back bar.
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The judges brought a wealth of experience from various sectors, including hospitality, retail, and education, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of each entry.
Judges were impressed with the Suffolk spirit’s packaging and value, scoring 93 and 92, respectively, but it was the quality of the spiced gold spirit that they were most impressed by.
Since the competition began nine years ago, no spiced rum has received a higher score than Alkemy Spiced Gold has achieved this year.
Co-founder Will Tapster says, “I think it’s a good indication that people are taking spiced rum more seriously.
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“Historically, spiced rums have performed a lot worse than other rums in these awards, but that’s changed now.
“People are starting to see that amongst the traditionally overly sweet spiced rums, there are others that are as complex and enjoyable as any spirit.”
The achievement of being the highest ever scoring spiced rum is not lost on the distillery.
Co-founder Rob Tapster explains: “We have to admit that we were quite surprised, not because we don’t have faith in the spirit, but because we have had mixed responses to our spirit in these competitions.
“So far, we either score very well or get disqualified for not being a ‘true rum’. We see both as valid.”
The former UK Prime Minister, who lives just outside of Wallingford with his family, was paying tribute to Rod Liddle in a new article in The Spectator following the broadcaster’s death.
Mr Liddle died on Sunday, August 2, after a short illness and having spent his career in journalism and Mr Johnson has now paid tribute to him.
In his Spectator piece, the former Henley MP wrote: “Look at what has happened to free speech in the last couple of decades: J.K. Rowling all but cancelled just for saying a woman is a woman; the cops knocking on your door for non-crime hate incidents; students banning brilliant minds from their campuses; endless ridiculous ‘content warnings’; people fired just for a stray comment on the internet.
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“It’s mad, and yet more and more journalists have been invisibly capitulating. We have been toning it down, cutting that joke, sandpapering things to avoid getting into trouble.
“Not Rod Liddle. In the last few years he seemed to become more and more exceptional: still blazing away from his lonely but glorious redoubt.”
Ms Rowling, who wrote all the books in the Harry Potter series, JK Rowling, has told of her growing “fury” after a leading human rights charity branded the sexual violence support centre she founded “anti-rights”.
The sector’s watchdog has confirmed it is investigating the matter.
The Harry Potter author said she is willing to support legal action on the issue, after a report published by Amnesty International UK listed Beira’s Place alongside several other organisations described as “gender critical” and classed as “anti-rights”.
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The list also named For Women Scotland, which won a Supreme Court case in April 2025, which saw judges at the UK’s highest court rule that the term “woman” in the Equality Act refers to a biological woman.
Beira’s Place was established in Edinburgh in 2022 by Rowling to provide women-only support for women who have experienced sexual violence.
Rowling posted on X on Friday: “Amnesty’s attack on Beira’s Place has left me burning with the kind of fury that mounts with every passing hour.”
She had previously stated that Amnesty had made a “massive error of judgment” if it believed “organisations it has attacked will be unwilling to go to court”.
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She added: “They underestimate both the solidarity that exists between the targeted organisations and my willingness to support legal action, not just on behalf of Beira’s Place, but for all women’s and LGB organisations falsely branded ‘anti-rights’.”
The Charity Commission said on Thursday that it was looking into the issue and confirmed on Friday that it had opened a case into the matter; however, it has not yet taken the step of opening a formal inquiry.
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We have opened a regulatory compliance case to further assess concerns raised with us about a briefing published by Amnesty International UK Charitable Trust.
“As part of this, we will be engaging with the charity’s trustees to gather more information.”
The commission, which regulates charities in England and Wales, also said the charity had referred itself to the watchdog by submitting a serious incident report.
Caroline, whose surname has not been released, was last seen on Shilton Road in Burford, West Oxfordshire, at about 2am on Wednesday, August 5.
More than 60 hours later, police are still searching for the 66-year-old woman and are trying to establish where she was last seen, and helicopters from the National Police Air Service have been assisting in searching the area.
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Thames Valley Police released a new image on Friday, August 8, a CCTV footage still believed to show Caroline on Oxford Road, opposite Burford Road, at about 5.27am on the morning of her disappearance.
A statement released along with the image said: “We understand the quality of the image is poor, but we are sharing it because we are doing everything we can to establish Caroline’s movements and locate her safely.
“We hope that someone may recognise her, remember seeing her, or have information that could help our enquiries.
“We continue to ask residents in Burford and the surrounding areas, as well as any motorists who travelled through this area at around 5.30am, to check any CCTV, doorbell, dashcam or other footage they may have.
“Even the smallest detail could prove vital to our enquiries.
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“We would like to thank everyone who has shared our appeals and contacted us with information so far.
“The support from the local community has been invaluable, and we continue to appeal for anyone who may have seen Caroline, or who recalls anything unusual during those early morning hours, to come forward.”
Anyone with information should contact police quoting reference number 43260403808, and anyone who sees the missing woman is asked to call 999.
Lizzie Waterworth has voiced the title character in the children’s TV series for 13 years, appearing across all 250 episodes broadcast between 2006 and 2019.
The BAFTA-nominated voice actor was shortlisted for Best Performer at the British Academy Children’s Awards in 2019 for her work as Henry.
She also played Nitty Nora, the school nurse, in the 2011 live-action film Horrid Henry: The Movie.
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Away from the mischievous animated schoolboy, Ms Waterworth’s credits include Alphablocks, Bob the Builder, The Backyardigans, Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps, Franklin, Clifford’s Puppy Days and the stop-motion film Strike.
Now, the Oxford Mail can exclusively announce that Ms Waterworth is coming to the county’s very own comic-con on Sunday, September 7.
Abbey-Con is held by Rob Turner and Trooper Events annually at the White Horse Leisure & Tennis Centre in Abingdon.
A statement from the convention’s organisers said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that Lizzie Waterworth is joining us at Abbey-Con!
“You may know Lizzie as the voice of Horrid Henry (a role that earned her a BAFTA nomination!), but that’s just the beginning!
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“She’s also brought to life beloved characters in Alphablocks, Bob the Builder, Isadora Moon, and even Cutie the Elephant in the award-winning video game It Takes Two.
“With an incredible career spanning animation, television and gaming, Lizzie has been entertaining families for years.
“But her work doesn’t stop behind the microphone! She’s passionate about helping young people build confidence through public speaking and works with schools, businesses and Milton Keynes University Hospital to support children during hospital visits.
“Whether you’re a lifelong Horrid Henry fan, grew up watching her characters, or just love meeting the talented people behind your favourite shows and games, this is your chance to meet Lizzie in person!
“At Abbey-Con in The White Horse Leisure & Tennis Centre.”
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