A NEW pop-up bar at Bicester village has proved the perfect tonic for shoppers hoping to enjoy local gin under the summer sun.

Crowds have been filing in to the first gin bar to be opened at the popular tourist attraction in Bicester, by local manufacturers The Oxford Artisan Distillery (TOAD).

The distillery, based in South Park, has taken the county by storm since opening little short of a year ago and now it hopes to do the same with the influx of Bicester Village shoppers.

Toad opened their new pop-up on the Secret Garden Terrace, in the expanded end of the Village, on Friday.

CEO and founder Tom Nicolson said: “It is our first fully grown pop-up and it is wonderful to open it at Bicester Village.

“There are some wonderfully established brands here, so we are very excited to be a part of it.”

The Oxford-based distillery, in South Park, offers up five spirits, including two gins, from grain to glass having been grown organically in fields close to Oxford.

The TOAD Bar will also serve Loose Cannon’s Oxford Pils beer and award-winning Oxney Organic Sparkling Wine.

Mr Nicolson added: “It came about after working with Bicester Village on various bits and bobs for the past eight months and they just really love what we are about and working with proper artisan brands.

“The response since opening has been really good and we have been very busy.

“It has been a great reaction and we have a fantastic team of people here, so it is great.

“The sun has been shining and it is just such a great place to sit and relax with a coffee or a cocktail.”

The TOAD bar,which will be a pop-up in the Village for three months, will be open daily from 11am and cocktails will be available from 4pm.

Mr Nicolson added: “We are thrilled Bicester Village are keen to support local companies and it is good to get some local brands in here.”

TOAD opened at the end of July 2017 and now has over 200 points of sale, including shops, bars and restaurants predominantly in Oxfordshire.

The firm also won Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership New Business Award at the Oxfordshire Business Awards earlier this month.

The firm are currently working on building a restaurant at the distillery site in Oxford and hope to have that open within 18 months.

The new pop-up at Bicester Village comes as the Bicester tourist attraction also welcomed new restaurant the Wolseley.

It comes as the first of its kind outside of the famous London restaurant which was built in a former car showroom at 160 Piccadilly in 2003 - next door to the Ritz hotel.

It also opened this month.