The Cotswolds was my most anticipated stop on this tour for a few reasons. Some were to do with the spirits themselves, some to do with the location, and some to do with the distillery’s reputation.
But mostly it’s because, although I have a strong connection to White Peak due to proximity, Cotswolds is the distillery I have the most personal connection to thanks to the people. Throughout my journey this past year, three of the people I met that influenced me the most came from this distillery, and one of those people is getting a spotlight today!
I did and saw a lot while at the Cotswolds distillery, more than I could write here, and that’s all thanks to Alice Pearson. Alice has been my mentor for the past half year and has guided me in the right direction every step of the way. But besides that, she gave me a private tour of the entire distillery from top to bottom, even the areas not open to the public! I’ll include a few of those places here, but I can’t include all of them for the sake of time.
First we were shown the old stillhouse, which holds the stills used for making their gin, but also the decommissioned stills they used for making their now discontinued rum. It was a real treat to get an up close look at these pieces of equipment, as well as get to smell the leftover spent lees of the last rum distillation they ever did!
From here we turned a corner and got to see the bottling station, complete with the in-floor disgorging area! In this area we also went upstairs to see the blending area, filled wall to wall with cask samples, and the lab area full of pure spirits with only single botanical extracts, so new gin blends could be created! All incredibly cool stuff to see!
Next we moved onto the new stillhouse, which was quite the impressive upgrade in size, going from about a 2000L still to 10,000L! All the other equipment was also huge here, such as the mash tuns and their impressive churning arms, and the washbacks, which are incredibly deep when empty!
We even got to see more of the nitty gritty, such as the boiler area where through a small hatch you can see the fire inside raging! Or seeing the 1st and 2nd fill cask storage outside the facility building, which needed to be watered with a custom built irrigation system to not dry out (as they weren’t holding anything at the time).
We also got to see the cask warehouse proper, or as I was told, what is closer to the cask “holding area”. Most of the casks here are either recently filled or about ready for disgorging. There are only 300 or so casks in here but, as I’m told, Cotswold have currently got over 5000 casks laid down in their proper off-site warehouse.
Still, this holding area has some real highlights, such as their first ever cask they laid down, their first cask of rum, a cask with a transparent end to show the angel’s share in real time to the guests, and some massive 650L ex-red wine casks that were likely around 100 years old! All incredibly cool to see!
We also got the opportunity to see the wetlands area that the distillery has been irrigating for a few years.
We were unfortunately visiting out of season so we couldn’t see it in full bloom, but after talking to Alice about the time and money that went into making and keeping it healthy, I’m glad they put in so much effort. Most of the distilling industry is hell-bent on sustainability, so it’s nice to see a distillery of Cotswolds’ size take the initiative to upscale their environmental efforts too!
After this we headed back to the beautiful main visitor centre, where we sat down for some grub before the main tasting session. The food and drink were both fantastic, an incredibly good pick me up before we then started out “main course” for the evening!
This tasting session seemed adamant to outdo Dropworks in the sheer number of samples we got, as we were given fourteen samples to try! That’s damn near their whole range! We tried eight at the distillery, and took the other six home to try, as otherwise we’d be stumbling out of the building (and I wouldn’t be able to accurately describe how they taste)! We were given a massive range of stuff, so I’m going to have to very quickly summarise each thing we got and how it tasted otherwise we’ll be here forever!
Signature Dry Gin is the bottle that started it all for Cotswolds, it was the first thing they released to help them make some money for the whisky production, but sold so well that it became a mainstay. Nosing has quite prominent coriander, but the palate is quite light and citrusy. Very refreshing!
Hedgerow Gin is the Cotswolds’ equivalent to a sloe gin, but it incorporates more than just sloe, including an assortment of bullace, blackberries and damsons. Juniper is still quite prominent on the nose, but the palate is quite the explosion of flavour, starting quite bitter and progressively getting sweeter and fruitier. Fantastic with some tonic!
Old Tom Gin, Alice’s pride and joy, is a far more traditional dry gin, with botanicals and recipe techniques dating back to the 1700s. Really gentle juniper and lime aroma, with an equally gentle taste of coriander, clove and cool cucumber. Practically made for a G&T.
Summer Cup is a novel idea, a blend of Cotswolds’ signature dry gin and a selection of Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherries, with some added herbs and spices to round it out. The smell is sweet and spicy, with hints of sweet cherry, with a body of red grape and fermented plum. Ginger ale is a great pair for this one!
Signature Single Malt was the one that started it all, being a blend of single malts aged in first fill ex-bourbon casks and highly active STR ex-red wine casks. Strong vanilla and chocolate on the nose, with a smooth, gentle body of cacao nib, caramel and mild oak smoke. Fantastic!
Harvest Series: Amber Meadow Single Malt is a limited edition release that was aged in ex-Moscatel and premium ex-bourbon casks. Smells of clotted cream and oak, with a palate of gentle pear, pepper and corn. A weirdly nice combo!
Founder’s Choice Single Malt is an expression aged exclusively in Dan Szor’s favourite cask type: highly active STR ex-red wine casks. Sandalwood and white grape on the nose, juicy apricot, plum and sweet vanilla on the tongue. Sweet and succulent, I get why he likes these casks! Probably my favourite of the bunch!
Bourbon Cask Single Malt, as the name implies, is aged exclusively in first fill ex-bourbon casks. Apple and cinnamon on the nose, slightly sharper than the rest, strong oak notes, a bit of caramelised pear and a slight hickory smoke on the finish. Alright, though some of their other offerings are stronger I feel.
Peated Cask Single Malt is aged exclusively in ex-peated quarter casks. I know which distillery they sourced these from, but I shan’t say as a professional courtesy (though I will mention it’s a good distillery). Rural smells of hay and freshly harvested fields, Peat is quite prominent on the palate, with quite a vegetal twang as an undertone. Dynamic, and tasty, a winner for me!
Sherry Cask Single Malt is an expression formed from a blend of different sherry casks, with each batch being unique in its own way. Blueberries and fresh cream on the nose, with a juicy raspberry and plum jam body with a cassia bark finish. Perfect for Christmas time!
Reserve Single Malt is an elegantly matured whisky that uses a mix of first-fill ex-bourbon casks and STR-ex-red wine casks, and is unfortunately unavailable to buy as it’s out of stock! With a sweet banana and vanilla aroma, and a creamy, malt forward body with hints of white chocolate and mild smoke. A bit of a confusing one to my palate, but I can tell it’s a rock solid whisky! It’s just not for me.
White Pheasant New Make Spirit is the liquid that comes off the still and goes into the casks to eventually become the whisky here at the Cotswolds! The smell is surprisingly creamy, with a shockingly light grain forward body and a cooking spice finish. I can’t lie, I find this smoother than some single malts!
Whisky Cream Liqueur is exactly what it says on the tin, it’s a blend of fresh cream and Cotswolds Signature Single Malt. Stick toffee pudding and vanilla ice cream on the nose, sweet, creamy milky goodness on the body with a well incorporated alcohol feel that makes the liqueur feel thicker and like it’s laden with syrup. Really, really enjoyable, highly recommended incorporating into dessert recipes!
Whiskey Amaro No. 2 is an expression that blends select botanicals with the Peated Cask Single Malt expression to create a very unique digestif. Smells like a very mild grape juice, and tastes like cranberry and gooseberry, with a slight lemon zing. Best neat I’d say, or in a nice spritz.
Overall I really love Cotswolds, and I’m so glad I do. I was worried it might have been overhyped, but honestly it’s fantastic! The spirits are lovely, they have a rich range to choose from, the staff are wonderful, and they’re constantly innovating, improving themselves and leading the industry in a great direction!
Thank you again to Alice for just being a massive help to me for the last few months, and for letting us get such a detailed look at the distillery operations! Keep it up Cotswolds, I’ll be visiting regularly for some great food, and some stellar spirits!
This post’s recommended song is: “Roll Over Beethoven” – Status Quo
