Cotswolds distillery information
Located in Stourton in the North Cotswolds between Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon, the Cotswolds distillery was founded by Dan Szor, a hedge fund manager working in London (originally from New York). His wife and him own a house in the Cotswolds and in 2012, Dan looked out the window, saw fields of Barley, and being an avid whisky lover, the figured it was time for a career shift. Two old farm buildings in Stourton (Between Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon) were purchased by November 2013, using capital of his own, his family, and a club of private investors, the Cotswolds Distillery Founders’ Circle for the initial financing of the distillery.
Seeing Dan had no experience in the actual workings of a distillery, he hired renowned whisky consultants Jim Swan and Harry Cockburn to assit him with the initial planning, and then assembled the rest of his staff. The buildings were refurbished, and turned into a distillery along with tasting rooms and office, with the stills arriving in June 2014. In July, an opening event was held on the 22nd, and production started in September of the same year.
Apart from the regular whisky stills, an additional 500 liter Hybrid Holstein still was added to the distillery in order to produce gin, brandies, and other spirits.
Cotswolds Whiskies
All ingredients used in the distillation are sourced locally. The first batch of Single Malt whisky will be released in 2017, but until then, the distillery intends to sell some other products:
- Cotswolds Single MAlt whisky; to be released in 2017. It will be an unpeated, and primarily matured in Sherry casks
- Cotswolds Dry Gin
- Traitor’s Ford Rye; English Rye Whisky
- Cotswoldados; a Calvados-like spirit
- Cotswolds cream liqueur; a mix of Cotswold spirit and a fortified Sherry
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Cotswolds |
| Region | The Cotswolds |
| Country | England |
| Logo |  |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Water source | Refined Cotswolds water |
| Malting floor | No |
| Owned by | Cotswold Distilling Company Ltd |
| Address |
The Cotswolds Distillery +44 (0) 1608 238533 |
| Visitor centre | Yes |
| Website | http://www.cotswoldsdistillery.com/ |
| http://twitter.com/Cotswoldistill | |
| https://www.facebook.com/cotswoldsdistillery?ref=ts&fref=ts | |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | 0,5 tonnes | 1 |
| Washback | 2,500 litres | 4 |
| Wash still | 2,400 litres | 1 |
| Spirit Still | 1,600 litres | 1 |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | 50,000 |
Images courtesy of The Cotswolds Distillery and Tom Elms Photography
Frequently Asked Questions
The Cotswolds Distillery was founded by Dan Szor, a hedge fund manager working in London, originally from New York. Dan and his wife owned a house in the Cotswolds, and in 2012, after looking out the window at fields of barley as an avid whisky lover, he decided it was time for a career shift.
Two old farm buildings in Stourton, between Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon, were purchased by November 2013, using capital from Dan Szor himself, his family, and a club of private investors called the Cotswolds Distillery Founders’ Circle.
Since Dan Szor had no experience in the actual workings of a distillery, he hired renowned whisky consultants Jim Swan and Harry Cockburn to assist with the initial planning, before assembling the rest of his staff. The buildings were refurbished into a distillery along with tasting rooms and offices, with the stills arriving in June 2014. An opening event was held on 22 July that year, and production started that September.
Yes. Alongside its regular whisky stills, an additional 500-litre hybrid Holstein still was added to the distillery to produce gin, brandies, and other spirits.
All ingredients used in distillation are sourced locally. Alongside its single malt whisky, matured primarily in sherry casks, the distillery’s range includes Cotswolds Dry Gin, Traitor’s Ford Rye, an English rye whisky, Cotswoldados, a Calvados-like spirit, and a Cotswolds cream liqueur made from a mix of Cotswolds spirit and fortified sherry.
Yes, the Cotswolds Distillery has a visitor centre.