COTSWOLD WHISKY SECURES WAITROSE AND PARTNERS LISTING

Cotswolds Distillery has secured a nation-wide listing in Waitrose & Partners for its whisky. 

Released in exactly a year ago, the Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky has already accumulated an impressive nine medals and awards in its first 12 months. Each bottle lists the barley variety, harvest year and local Cotswolds farm it was grown on.
 
Described as a rich and fruity single malt, it has been aged in a combination of first-fill ex-Bourbon casks and specially shaved, toasted and re-charred red wine barriques.

The whisky, which recently took Gold at the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition and two stars at the Great Taste Awards, has benefitted from a number of production techniques often considered too costly or inefficient in the wider whisky industry. In particular, the distillery is committed to using only barley grown on local farms in the Cotswolds, and each bottle lists the barley variety, harvest year and farm it was grown on.

The distillery began production of its whisky and gin in 2014 at its small site in Stourton near Shipston-on-Stour. The original business plan was for small-scale production to sell locally but the gin soon won awards and listings in the UK and abroad, and the small company has grown rapidly ever since.

Dan Szor, founder and CEO of Cotswolds Distillery, said “We are delighted that Waitrose & Partners has chosen to list Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky so widely – it’s a wonderful statement of belief in both our distillery and in the wider ‘world whisky’ category. We are passionate about showing consumers that small distilleries like ours, outside the traditional whisky heartlands, are committed to a production ethos that champions the highest quality local ingredients and distilling methods that are driven by quality over cost. It’s painstaking work but we feel we’re really raising the bar, so we’re very proud to show off the incredible results you can achieve, even as a brand-new distillery.”
  
The listing of the Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky coincides with an expansion of Waitrose & Partners’ listing of the distillery’s award-winning Cotswolds Dry Gin. The gin was first listed as part of the retailer’s regional producers scheme, and has been available at 10 stores in and around the Cotswolds area since July 2017 

Featuring lavender grown locally to the distillery, the gin was named Best London Dry in the World Gin Awards 2016 and secured the top Gold Outstanding medal in the IWSC the following year.

www.cotswoldsdistillery.com