Cotswolds Distillery

Type: Distillery and brand

Cotswolds Distillery makes English single malt whisky at Stourton in Warwickshire, where it opened in July 2014. Its Signature Single Malt followed in October 2017, and a larger distillery opened in January 2023, giving the business room to expand beyond its original production space.[1]

At a glance

What Cotswolds Distillery is known for

Cotswolds brings together a comparatively recent founding story, barley grown nearby and a whisky range built around different cask treatments. Its Signature combines whisky matured in STR ex-red-wine barriques with whisky from first-fill ex-bourbon casks, according to Berry Bros. & Rudd's account. The account identifies the cask treatment as STR.[7]

The distinction between the original site and the expanded whisky plant matters here. The first distillery occupied one room over two floors, accommodating gin and whisky equipment; the new whisky facility was built by Forsyths in Scotland and transported to the site in sections.[5] This is a distillery whose production arrangements have changed substantially within its short history, rather than an old name attached to an unchanged building.

The producer identifies Cotswolds Dry Gin as its first product while the whisky matured. When Signature arrived in October 2017, the producer described it as “the first whisky ever distilled in the Cotswolds”, a regional first presented here as the distillery's own claim.[1]

Dan Szor and the founding story

Daniel, usually known as Dan, Szor was born in New York and worked in finance before founding the distillery, according to its own account.[2] His interest in single malt preceded the business: a published interview places his discovery of it at a Scotch Malt Whisky Society event in Paris around 2000, while another account records his purchase of a Bruichladdich barrel in 2002.[8][10]

The company was incorporated in June 2013. Warwickshire County Council's account records Dan and his wife Katia opening the distillery on 1 July 2014, separating the legal creation of the company from the opening of the production site.[4][9]

Story box: from whisky interest to a distillery

Learning to make the whisky

The producer names Dr Jim Swan and former Bowmore distillery manager Harry Cockburn as advisers from the start.[2] Whisky Magazine reports that Swan spent a few weeks helping the team in autumn 2014, an important distinction from imagining that the first spirit emerged fully formed.[5]

Szor's recollection in that article is unusually direct: “The first bits that came off the still were pretty terrible.” Swan's reported response was practical rather than ceremonial: “Don't worry, I'll be down in a couple of weeks and we'll fix it.” These are retrospective accounts of the early production work, not independent tasting records.[5]

One of Swan's suggestions was to use a small amount of butter to control fermentation foam, drawing on a marmalade-making technique.[6] That detail also explains a question about the whisky's suitability for vegans, rather than merely providing an entertaining production anecdote.

The producer says this butter use is being phased out and that current bottles may contain a trace.[3] Cotswolds whisky should therefore not be described categorically as having always been vegan; anyone for whom that matters should check the producer's information for the particular bottle.

The larger distillery

The January 2023 expansion was a major change in scale. The producer gives an installed capacity of 500,000 litres of pure alcohol annually, but that figure describes what the equipment was designed to accommodate, not the amount of whisky actually made.[1]

Forsyths constructed the equipment in Scotland, with Whisky Magazine reporting that it travelled in 12 pieces.[5] Master of Malt describes equipment built in Rothes and a modular installation extending from the mill to the spirit safe.[6]

Berry Bros. & Rudd's account describes production doubling in 2025 to about 200,000 litres.[7] That dated report should be read separately from the installed-capacity figure: it is not evidence that the distillery was producing at its maximum, nor a verified output figure for November 2026.

The expansion also had a personal reference point. Whisky Magazine reports that a visit to Szor's friend Ichiro Akuto at Chichibu helped inspire it.[5] The connection belongs to the development story, not to a claim that the two distilleries make the same style of whisky.

Barley, casks and the range

Berry Bros. & Rudd's production account identifies Laureate barley and says the barley is malted at Warminster Maltings.[7] These are useful details about the supply chain without turning geographical proximity into an unsupported promise about flavour.

Casks are especially prominent in the published description of the whisky. Alongside bourbon and STR casks, reporting records sherry, Banyuls, port and amaro casks.[6] The Signature combination is the clearest starting point for understanding the range: it brings together two maturation approaches rather than presenting a single cask type.[7]

The producer's collection lists Signature, Founder's Choice, Peated Cask, Bourbon Cask and Sherry Cask. It also includes Hearts & Crafts 7 Madeira Cask, Round Hill Harvest, Highgrove Evergreen, 12th Birthday and The Full English.[3] These are documented product names, not a ranking or a claim that every expression is continuously available.

There are several distinct strands behind those names. The producer dates the first Hearts & Crafts release to 2020 and Golden Wold, the first Harvest series release, to 2022.[1] Highgrove followed in 2023 in collaboration with the Highgrove Estate; trade reporting identifies Plumage Archer barley for the Highgrove whisky.[1][7]

The producer states that its whiskies have no added colouring and that many of its spirits are not chill-filtered.[3] “Many” should not be rewritten as “all”: the published statement does not establish one filtration treatment for every expression.

A production timeline

These dates distinguish incorporation, opening, releases and expansion. They are different milestones, and none should be substituted for a separately verified first-distillation date.

Visiting and the wider site

Visitors have been a significant part of the business: Whisky Magazine reports more than 100,000 annually, while an earlier interview describes the visitor centre as crowdfunded.[5][8] These accounts establish its importance to the distillery, not current booking conditions.

Before travelling, check the producer's website for booking requirements, accessibility information and age rules for tours. Check those separately from the whisky range, since an expression appearing online does not establish what a visit includes.

The producer also records wetlands opening in August 2024 and says they treat about three quarters of its wastewater.[1] That is a specific reported treatment measure, rather than evidence for a broader, unqualified environmental claim.

Where to go next

• The English Distillery: another English distillery profile.
• Spirit of Yorkshire and Filey Bay: a related distillery and whisky profile.
• White Peak and Wire Works: continue exploring English producers.

Sources

1. Cotswolds Distillery. Our Story. Producer's account, undated web edition supplied in the fact sheet, checked November 2026. https://www.cotswoldsdistillery.com/pages/our-story
2. Cotswolds Distillery. Our Approach. Producer's account, undated web edition supplied in the fact sheet, checked November 2026. https://www.cotswoldsdistillery.com/pages/our-approach
3. Cotswolds Distillery. Cotswolds Whisky collection. Producer's account, collection page supplied in the fact sheet, checked November 2026. https://www.cotswoldsdistillery.com/collections/cotswolds-whisky
4. Companies House. THE COTSWOLD DISTILLING COMPANY LIMITED, company 08561633. Register entry supplied in the fact sheet, checked November 2026. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08561633
5. Whisky Magazine. Cotswolds Distillery founder reflects as English whisky maker turns 10. Trade reporting, edition supplied in the fact sheet, checked November 2026. https://www.whiskymag.com/articles/cotswolds-distillery-founder-reflects-as-english-whisky-maker-turns-10/
6. Master of Malt. Inside the new Cotswolds Distillery. Trade reporting, edition supplied in the fact sheet, checked November 2026. https://www.masterofmalt.com/blog/post/inside-the-new-cotswolds-distillery/
7. Berry Bros. & Rudd. Cotswolds Distillery: place, people and purpose. Account by a part-owner, edition supplied in the fact sheet, checked November 2026. https://www.bbr.com/articles/spirits/cotswolds-distillery-place-people-and-purpose
8. ScotchWhisky.com. Five minutes with Daniel Szor, Cotswolds Distillery. Published interview, edition supplied in the fact sheet, checked November 2026. https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/interviews/five-minutes-with/25823/daniel-szor-cotswolds-distillery/
9. Warwickshire County Council. The booming business that grew out of Dan's field of dreams. November 2017 archive, supplied in the fact sheet, checked November 2026. https://business.warwickshire.gov.uk/november-2017/news-in-brief/the-booming-business-that-grew-out-of-dans-field-of-dreams
10. The Moodie Davitt Report. How Cotswolds Distillery is championing the fast-emerging English whisky category. Trade interview, edition supplied in the fact sheet, checked November 2026. https://moodiedavittreport.com/interview-how-cotswolds-distillery-is-championing-the-fast-emerging-english-whisky-category/

This article is desk research based on the supplied verified fact sheet, separating company records, producer statements and trade reporting; it includes no site visit or first-hand tasting.

Last checked: November 2026