Cotswolds Founder's Choice is the bottling that announced a new English distillery could play the big game. Matured entirely in STR (shaved, toasted, re-charred) red wine casks and bottled at a generous cask strength of around 60.5%, it is the distillery's deepest, richest expression and feels every bit of it.
Pour it and the colour is immediate — deep amber with a rosy undertone, the red wine casks signing their name in the glass. The nose tumbles out: red berries, dark chocolate, fig jam, toasted almonds, and a curl of cherry wood smoke drifting across the top. Water opens it further, pulling out marzipan and rose.
The palate is rich and oily, which is exactly what you want at this strength. Blackcurrant arrives first, then morello cherry, a spoon of treacle, and baking spice — cinnamon, clove, a sliver of cardamom. Ripe plum rounds it all out. The STR casks have done magnificent work here, pressing fruit into every corner of the spirit without tipping it into sweetness.
The finish is long and warming, with dark fruit lingering under oak tannin, a ribbon of cocoa, and a gentle dryness that asks for another sip. Add a few drops of water and it blooms again, softer but no less layered.
Cotswolds Distillery launched in 2014 in the north Cotswolds, the first whisky distillery in the region, and Founder's Choice has become something of a calling card — proof that young English single malt can stand shoulder to shoulder with more celebrated neighbours. It is a winter whisky, a fireside whisky, and well worth its price.
