The Cotswold's First & Only Distillery Creates Outstanding Natural Gin

Cotswolds Dry Gin is made in a rather unique distillery situated in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty among the famous farmland of the Cotswolds. This five-acre facility runs seven days a week to produce a number of artisan spirits including whisky and gin. The Cotswold Distillery isn't some kind of industrial behemoth though—it was designed to complement the natural beauty of the area, and great strides have been taken to replant indigenous trees and shrubs as well as grow some of the botanicals that go into the gin!

The distillery is the creation of Daniel Szar, a combination of his twenty-year love affair with spirits and his passion for the beauty of the Cotswolds. Daniel had a long and successful career in finance but dreamed of leaving the rat race of London behind to create a product with his hands and be part of a community.

His first experience of the Cotswolds was when he brought his family there to spend weekends together. Funnily enough, they stayed in a converted barn that's close to where the distillery is now located! It wasn't long before Dan decided to move there permanently. He planned to open the distillery when he realised there was a ton of barley growing nearby for whisky making—not to mention botanicals to put in gin.

Dan currently lives very close to the distillery, as do the rest of the team, and the distillery is committed to being as eco-friendly as possible. All production waste is recycled: spent barley grains are used to feed local cattle, and other byproducts are converted into biogas at a nearby anaerobic digester. The distillery also features eight solar panels on the warehouse roof, which provide the majority of energy needed to power the equipment inside.

Cotswolds Gin is crafted using a tailor-made hybrid Holstein still. With a 500-litre capacity, the distillery has plenty of room to experiment with new recipes and flavours. Dan was determined not to produce just another boring gin, so he hired an expert botanist to search for unusual Cotswold botanicals that would result in a unique and well-balanced spirit.

They ultimately chose nine wonderful botanicals to be distilled with pure wheat spirit: juniper, coriander, angelica root, Cotswolds lavender and bay leaf, grapefruit, lime, black pepper, and cardamom seed. The result is a classic, well-balanced juniper-led gin with crisp citrus and spice.

The neutral wheat spirit is combined with Cotswolds spring water in the Holstein still. The base botanicals—juniper, coriander, and angelica—are added and left to macerate overnight to thoroughly infuse their flavours. Cotswolds Distillery uses a greater volume of botanicals than most producers to ensure the gin is very aromatic and full of character. The remaining botanicals are added to the still, which is run slowly throughout the day to achieve maximum depth and intensity of flavour.

Cotswolds Dry Gin

We would definitely recommend this gin—it's delicious on its own (always a great sign of quality) and over ice. Due to the greater volume of botanicals used and the slow-burn distillation method, it's robust enough to stand up to tonic and smooth enough to craft a great gin martini.

Nose: Fresh citrus notes of grapefruit with earthy coriander, backed up by sweet floral juniper. Minerals, cracked black pepper, and perfumed Cotswolds lavender.
Palate: Clean pine spice from the juniper followed by fresh grapefruit and coriander seed. Black pepper spice builds with a touch of dryness from the angelica root. Light mineral and eucalyptus notes from the bay leaf, followed by subtle lime and lavender.
Finish: Clean and balanced with juniper, citrus, and cooling notes from bay leaf and cardamom.