The Cotswolds Distillery Tasting Notes

The Cotswolds Distillery Test Batch Series ‘New Make Spirit’ 63.5%

Tasted: Nov 2015

Pungent, lightly oiled aromas of nascent barley and a touch of wet paper. It takes awhile to settle but beneath the oiliness is a full, fleshy spirit with a soft barley sweetness and hints of apple, acacia, earth and smoke.

Dry and lightly oiled on the palate but the apple and sweet barley is very noticeable. Quite soft with a dry citrus and a lovely peppery finish. Lingering, subtle ‘off the still’ notes.

With water the nose becomes fuller, fleshier and more rounded with the emphasise definitely on the sweet barley, citrus and apple. The palate is obviously softened and like the nose quite full and barley’d with an almost honey like character. Less ‘off the still’ notes now and more of the apple and cereal notes. Still peppery and lightly smoky on the finish.

The Cotswolds Distillery Test Batch Series ‘Sherry Matured Malt Spirit’ 62.4%

5 months Oloroso Sherry matured/ Tasted: Nov 2015

A lovely, intensely coffee’d nose – pure, dark roasted French and Columbian coffee mix! Hints of treacle, earth and walnut but the lightly oiled and barley’d spirit powers through bringing some fleshy apricot, banana and a touch of toffee.

The palate shows more toffee and brown sugar. Taughter with the lightly oiled and slightly sweet spirit more prominent. The sherry comes through with hints of treacle and walnuts on the middle. Long and peppery with a ‘toshan-like boiled sweet note in the finish.

The Cotswolds Distillery Test Batch Series ‘Red Wine Matured Malt Spirit’ 63%

10 months ex-red wine cask matured/ Tasted: Nov 2015

Quite noticeable aromas of red wine and sweet spice. Again there are hints of boiled sweets, cherry drops, earth, manure and some stinky, elemental peat.

The palate is soft and winey but the combination of alcohol and tannins make it quite drying. Still there’s some hints of syrup coated red cherry, coffee, chocolate and wood spices. Intense and violety finish with spicy chicory, cinnamon and sweet/ bitter black pepper.

A drop of water doesn’t make much change to the nose. The palate is less sweet and more biscuity with a shredded wheat-like character. It’s also a little homogenous as well, but still quite peppery on the finish. Impressive but not quite balanced at this moment in time.