Quad Cask is Cotswolds Distillery's expression of what happens when a single malt is matured across four different cask types and then married together. The line-up combines first-fill ex-bourbon barrels, STR (shaved, toasted and recharred) red wine casks, first-fill ex-bourbon again in the form of reserve stock, and ex-Oloroso sherry butts. The result is a whisky designed for depth rather than delicacy.
Cotswolds Distillery was founded in 2014 by former hedge fund manager Daniel Szor in the village of Stourton, Warwickshire, tucked into the honey-stone hills of the Cotswolds. From day one the distillery has favoured traditional floor-malted Cotswold-grown barley, long fermentations and a heavy-bodied new-make spirit — exactly the kind of robust starting point that can stand up to active cask finishing.
The STR casks in particular are something of a house signature. Reshaping and re-toasting old red wine barrels opens up a second wave of wood activity, pulling vanillin and red-fruit character into the spirit quickly. Combined with the dried-fruit depth of Oloroso and the sweetness of bourbon wood, Quad Cask reads like a sherried English malt with extra colour in its cheeks.
Bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill-filtered and without added colour, it is a generous, hospitable dram. If Cotswolds' signature Single Malt is the postcard, Quad Cask is the longer letter — more detail, more texture, more to come back to. It is a fine introduction to the maturity that English whisky is quietly, confidently reaching.
