A first introduction to the Cotswolds Distillery
The Cotswolds are a beautiful region in the central parts of England and high on my list to visit one day. It was a matter of time, I suppose, that the giant surge in whisky distilleries all over the world would also take England by storm. The Cotswold Distillery was opened in 2014 and can be counted among the veterans of the 21st century whisky boom. For comparison, Ardnamurchan Distillery opened in the same year. It seems that the founder was surprised to see so much barley in the Cotswolds, and wondered why no one was distilling it. The rest is, as they say, history. The whisky we taste today was named thus ever since their first mature expression came out in 2017. They have released different expressions already, but since I have never ever tasted a Cotswolds malt before, I am going to start off here.
Cotswolds Signature, bottled at 46 % abv
First things first: A small batch release of 6200 bottles of Cotswolds single malt whisky matured in first fill bourbon and red wine casks.
Upon Sipping: English single malt, a very underrated category because if nothing else in the UK, it will always stand in the shadow of the Scottish equivalent. Question mark. In any case, the wine cask in this batch gave an elegant fragrance to this Cotswolds. Light red berries infused with hints of vanilla. Spring is here! Some freshly sawed tree trunks laying in a damp forest. Very bright. Then we take a sip. On the palate, I do not find much variation from the vanilla infusion. It’s on the finish where the party starts. The wine and bourbon casks make for an incredibly fruity departure, with hints of pineapple and papaya. Not bad at all! It is a tad drying, which is the curse of wine cask maturation, but I have had much worse. It seems to work quite well in this batch composition.
Word to the Wise: Quite a good deal, this Cotswolds. It is always difficult to say a price is good on a bottle of no age stated young whisky, but this will not make you feel cheated out of your money. This is a pretty little thing and I enjoyed it.
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