Helen Peacocke meets an entrepreneur who has set his heart on turning local water into whisky and gin

The journey from hedge funds to hedgerows is a trip very few make — and more travel in the opposite direction. Not so American entrepreneur Daniel Szor, who turned his back on London last year to set up a state-of-the-art distillery in the Cotswolds. To begin this new life, he chose the village of Stourton, midway between Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Daniel and his family now live a few fields away from the Cotswolds Distillery, which he has built to mirror the landscape’s beauty. Newly-planted native trees, shrubs, flowers, and even botanicals to be incorporated into the gin recipes, now enhance the area.

Daniel, who spent weekends relaxing with his wife and young daughter in the Cotswolds, caught the brewing bug on seeing a field of barley swaying in the wind. He suddenly realised there was barley all over the Cotswolds but nobody was distilling it. “Let’s be the first”, he said, with whisky in mind. These thoughts were also inspired by his first cask of whisky, which he had purchased from the Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay, where he had made annual pilgrimages for years.

But whisky can’t be created one day and drunk the next. Gin, made from a pure neutral spirit to which the distiller adds chosen botanicals, takes no time at all. This is why Daniel’s dry gin is ready but his Cotswolds single malt won’t be available until 2017. Then the 5,000 single-estate bottles from his first batch will be three years old.

Once established, Daniel hopes to produce around 120,000 bottles a year. In preparation for all this, Daniel took a distilling course at Heriot Watt University and recruited master distiller Harry Cockbourn and wood-ageing consultant Jim Swan. His dream was to brew whisky created from locally-sourced ingredients from the Cotswolds and water bought in from Blenheim.

The gin he is distilling is a delicate blend of carefully considered botanicals including juniper berries, coriander, angelica root and Cotswolds lavender. They produce a classic well-balanced gin with a gentle hint of lavender.

Yes, the UK is awash with different gins. In fact there is already another gin bearing a Cotswolds gin label. But as Rachel Tranter of Cotswolds Distillery explains, it isn’t called Cotswolds Dry Gin, just Cotswold Gin. She said: “It is produced by the Cotswolds Brewery under contract at Thames Valley Distillery in London. They produce a very small amount every year. Obviously their beers, which are excellent, are the main focus of the Cotswold Brewery.”

This means there are two gins bearing a Cotswold label available at the Feathers Hotel’s award-winning Courtyard Gin Bar. This famous bar earned its place in the Guinness Book of Records in 2012 when it stocked 163 different gins. Now the bar is well on its way to stocking at least 500. To earn its place, a gin has to have been on sale at the bar for least six months.

Daniel Szor’s Cotswold Distillery has just signed an agreement with US importer MHW Ltd and will begin selling its flagship dry gin in the United States by April.

Herald Series:
Alex Davies

Obviously Daniel is thrilled to be bringing his gin to his hometown of New York after its highly successful UK launch.

He said: “The US market represents a significant opportunity for our firm. New York is a great place to start, given America’s appreciation of craft spirits, ultra-premium products in general and ‘Made in England’ in particular.”

One of the oldest US spirits importers, MHW provides import and distribution services for spirits, wine and beer products from around the globe. CEO John Beaudette said MHW is delighted to be working with the Cotswolds Distillery on the US launch.

One of Daniel’s aims in setting up the distillery is to create something tangible and make a permanent move that enables him to enjoy a more relaxing rural lifestyle amid the rolling hills and honey-coloured Cotswold dwellings. While waiting for his whisky to mature, he is toasting this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with glasses of gin.