Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky
Official Bottling| 46% ABV
A Great Example Of English Whisky
In his 1785 poem The Task, English writer William Cowper wrote: “Variety's the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavour.” Never a truer quote when we shine a light on whisky, and how much flavour variations we can experience on our long whisky journey. As whisky drinkers, the selection we have available today is truly astounding. With north of 120 distilleries in Scotland alone, and more than 1000 craft distillers in North America, it can be a daunting task wondering where to begin. Leave it to us, the team at Dramface - we drink as much as we can and tell you what it’s like!
The majority of us will start by tasting whiskies from either Scotland, Ireland or the United States. After all, brands from these countries are some of the best-known, and a few bottles have been known to gather dust in drinks cupboards the world over. Someone always had a bottle of Jameson, Jack Daniel’s or Glenfiddich that were opened and shared during any form of social gathering.
Many of these global brands are supermarket staples and many people tend to stick to what’s readily available here. As I mentioned, with such an array of brands and bottles, it’s hard to know where to begin, never mind contemplating trying something from an unknown region. If you have an interest in flavour and experiencing something new, my advice is to give it a try.
It’s not the first time I've laid out a confession. I did the same in my Bladnoch 10yo review here on Dramface, admitting it was my first Lowland Scotch single malt. This dram of Cotswolds is also my first real look and taste of an English whisky. I haven’t seen much English whisky on display in my local retailers, with the exception of a sample selection stocked by British supermarket Marks & Spencer. It didn’t appeal to me for one reason or another. At that stage I'd only really begun to show an interest in whisky, and to my knowledge ‘English Whisky Co’ was the only distillery/brand I knew.
So, a little about the distillery. In 2011, a small farmhouse was purchased by Dan Szor (owner of Cotswolds Distillery) and his wife Katia. Having moved to the farmhouse from their home in London, it wasn’t until 2014 that Dan decided on a change from his 30+ year career in finance into spirit production. Before the first cask of single malt was filled, Dan assembled a team for the initial development of the distillery on the grounds of his farmhouse. Bringing together Harry Cockburn (who’s previous work include master distiller) and Dr. Jim Swan, he ensured that from the first run of their stills, the brand and liquid would be in good hands.
Barley used for the production of Cotswolds single malt whisky is sourced from local farms in the surrounding West Midland region of England. The barley is then sent to Britain’s oldest working maltings Warminster for floor malting, before returning for distillation.
Dan has previously stated in interviews that they do things differently at Cotswolds, mainly being small in their production of whisky. Referring to themselves as a ‘wee’ distillery rather than a ‘craft’ distillery, they have based their production methods and ethos from those you would find in Scottish distilleries that produce single malt whisky.
Sourcing their two copper pot still from Forsyth & Son of Rothes, Scotland, the stills are named Mary and Janis. Being a distillery that produces a smaller quantity, Dan has stated that they can really focus on the quality of the product at each individual step, a process which starts with the locally-sourced barley (a bit like the terroir angle Waterford have preached about, but in a much less holier than thou standpoint). Cotswolds distillery also do their own floor maltings and pride themselves in being a grain to glass distillery, as each step of the operation is done in house.
The quality of malt coming from Cotswolds can only excite the wider whisky drinking audience. We only have to look at the rave reviews of English single malt from others including Bimber and the Lakes distillery to see the standard being set by young single malt.
I don’t think young whisky is looked down upon any longer – although that’s a larger discussion for another time. The experiences we’re getting from single digit age statements whiskies, produced by distillers who are crafting delicious new-make and placing emphasis on cask management can only get better as more mature stock emerges, and others take these whiskies as the staple for what makes a cracking single malt whisky.
As a bonus for you all, Earie adds a second review for this English malt; from sherry casks.
Now for the fun part
Review
2017 Odyssey barley, 6200 bottles,
ex-bourbon & ex-Red wine, 46% ABV
£40 and widely available
The flagship bottle from Cotswolds. I purchased a sample of this single malt from Master Of Malt for £5. I think this is a great way to get a taste of a new bottle without having to fork out for full price. It also allows me to not overfill the already at capacity drinks cabinet!
Nose
You’re immediately greeted by fruit at first. Beautifully soft and rounded. Apricot jam and honeydew melon. Mixed in there is stewed rhubarb with strawberry & cream hard-boiled sweets. Some oats and flaky biscuits with a dusting of cinnamon. The sweetness develops further into more sweet treats. Fruit salad, orange peel and icing sugar. I find it a little floral and it finishes off with some mango.
Palate
A lot of red berry freshness. The sweetness from the nose is right there on the first sip, and it’s a little dry. There’s a citrus blast with the orange peel there too. The red berry reminds me of cranberries and softened raspberries. Again, the apricot and mango I discovered on the nose is right there on the mid-palate. It reminds me of a Sex On The Beach cocktail. The tip of my tongue tingles with some spice on the back end. It has a medium finish as a bit of red wine sweetness and wood lingers towards the end. With water, there’s little to no change on the palate. Softer citrus, maybe an orange marmalade influence is playing its part here.
The Dregs
Not sure exactly what year this sample was taken from. I’ve been told by other Dramface members that batch variation does occur within Cotswolds, so your experience could change from my own. On each batch release of Cotswolds single malt, the bottle label features the year the barley was harvested, the type of barley and the farm from which it came. This results in a different label if the year changes, or the farm changes. My experience could differ from yours, but other batches are still yielding delicious results and being enjoyed by many.
Given my experience with this single malt, I would buy a bottle. Interested now in pursuing each variation when released to see how it can change, which is an exciting single malt experience to have in itself.
Score: 6/10
Review
Cotswolds Sherry Cask 2020 small batch - 9900 bottles
£65 on their website, but app. £55 - £60 elsewhere, still widely available online
When I first crossed paths with Cotswolds Distillery, roughly 3-4 years ago, I was quite taken with their whisky - a quick dive into my whiskybase archives tells me it was batch 6/2018 of their Odyssey Barley. It was the first ever English whisky I got to try and from what I remember, it wasn’t unlike Scotch whisky, yet at the same time, there was something clearly “unscottish” about it as well. Which, in my book, qualifies as a positive trait, as I feel there’s plenty of Scotch whisky to go about as it is, so there really is no need for copy cats. Intentional or happy coincidence, I couldn't help but feel Cotswolds got it right by creating a whisky that seemed familiar to (Scotch) whisky enthusiasts, while at the same time making sure it had its own character and personality. Most importantly, while it was clearly young, it was also rather tasty. I remember making a note of it to try as many of their future releases as possible, as I thought it would be interesting to keep track of how this young distillery evolved. That didn’t go exactly as planned, as I too suffer from whisky promiscuity and other whisky got in the way. I know there are some deeply dedicated enthusiasts out there who are particularly enthusiastic about a specific distillery and go through great lengths to keep track of everything that’s coming out of their darling distillery, but that just doesn’t seem to work for me. I’m definitely more of a distillery hopper, happy to try and explore whatever comes my way. So, despite securing a second bottle of their Odyssey Barley, it would also be the last one to see the inside of my cabinet and - first world problems indeed - since then I had to settle for a few tastings left and right and the occasional bottle split. Which is how I managed to get my hands on a 10 cl sample from this 2020 small batch release.
What tickled my fancy on this particular bottle, was the fact that it’s been fully matured in ex-sherry casks. Not that I have a particular preference for this type of whisky, but I wanted to find out how it would compare to their standard release, which, if I’m not mistaken, is matured in STR bourbon casks before being finished in red wine casks.
Nose
A burst of rich, red fruits and spices (cinnamon, clove and nutmeg), a honey and demerara sugar sweetness, roasted nuts with a hint of chocolate and a subtle soapy-sweet herbaceous note. After adding some water it turned sweeter with notes of gingerbread and shortbread and honey glazed cereal.
Palate
Dry arrival and while delivering a quite full, viscous body, that dry mouthfeel remains a constant. Nutty, turning burnt/charred oak. Bittersweet tannins and dried red fruit (plums). With the added water the wine notes become more prominent, while allowing more dark fruit notes (blackcurrant) to surface as well alongside that soft bittersweet vegetal - soapy note I found on the nose. The dryness remains in a pleasantly long, warm finish
The Dregs
I’m not all sure that I’d recognize this as a Cotswolds whisky - in fact, if tasted blind I’m pretty sure I wouldn't pick this out as a non-Scotch. As I stated above, that’s a bit of a pity. Please don’t let there be any misunderstanding about the quality of this whisky - it’s good stuff, but I can’t help but feel that there is less distillery character to be found here compared to their core range expressions. The Cotswolds I remember was almost defined by tropical fruit notes, and here it’s a bit as if the sherry casks have taken over the show. Like I said, it’s good quality, and when we’re talking value for money this is pretty spot on too, but in terms of more vague things like ‘provenance’ or ‘signature profile’, I’m not totally convinced about this one. Enjoyable, but maybe it just ‘blends in’ with the crowd of sherry matured whisky a tad too easily.
Score: 6/10 EA
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. HF