For 21 years, St. George Single Malt Whiskey has been an American original: distilled, aged, blended, and bottled by us out of love for what a handcrafted single malt can be.

If you’ve tried any other St. George distillate, you owe it to yourself to taste the spirit that compelled master distiller Lance Winters to start distilling in the first place.

1001 Whiskies You Must Taste Before You Die says our whiskey “might just be the best U.S. single malt available today”—and by George, we agree.

A tale of passion

Nestled amongst the rolling hills of the Cotswolds countryside, the Cotswolds Distillery was born from a dream to produce delicious spirits in one of the most beautiful regions in the world.

From hedgefunds to HEDGEROWS
It all started back in 2014, when our founder Dan, a native New Yorker and whisky connoisseur, had moved to the Cotswolds after working in finance in London for many years. Seeking to leave behind that world and spend more time in the picturesque countryside of the Cotswolds with his family, it eventually dawned on him that he could combine his love of whisky with his desire to start a new business. A dedicated whisky fan, Dan saw the fields of golden barley around his house in the Cotswolds and had a brainwave ‘I suddenly thought, there’s barley all over the Cotswolds and nobody’s distilling it, let’s be the first!’ Having found a derelict site near his house, he set about building a distillery and a team to run it, and the doors of the Cotswolds Distillery opened in July 2014.

Launching our WHISKY
After three years of eager anticipation, in October 2017 we released our Cotswolds Signature Single Malt Whisky, the first whisky ever to be distilled in the Cotswolds and the one which remains at the heart of our DNA. In the years since its launch, we have expanded our range of single malt whiskies to include our Cask Collection comprising four unique cask expressions, a yearly limited edition Hearts & Crafts series drawing inspiration from the Arts & Crafts movement, and hand-picked single cask releases.

Our Sherry Cask Single Malt Whisky is a marriage of carefully selected and blended sherry casks and features in our Cask Expressions Collection. Each yearly batch is unique, drawn from the finest American and Spanish oak hogsheads and butts, some of which have been seasoned with dry Oloroso sherry and others with sweet Pedro Ximénez. All have been sherry-aged through their full maturation for a deeper and more flavourful whisky. Full of dried fruits, chocolate and a touch of spice.

Part of our Cask Expressions Collection, our Cask Strength Founder's Choice Single Malt Whisky is aged exclusively in our founder Dan's favorite casks: STR (Shaved, Toasted and Re-charred) ex-red wine barriques. These highly active casks were created by our mentor and renowned whisky consultant, the late Dr. Jim Swan, and give a rich and intense maturation to our fruity new make spirit, offering strong notes of toffee, chocolate and red fruits, as well as a beautiful, deep color. 

CAREFULLY SOURCED INGREDIENTS

Malt: 100% locally grown, traditionally floor malted barley from the Cotswolds.

Yeast: Two complementary varieties - Anchor and Fermentis - to ensure good yields and excellent fruity flavors.

Water: Village water supply - filtered, softened and demineralized before use.

Wood: STR (Shaved, Toasted and Re-charred) American oak ex-red wine casks, designed by the late Dr Jim Swan.

TASTING NOTES

NOSE: Dry hay and cut wood, with dark chocolate and dried figs, and plums in sweet syrup.

PALATE: Warming cereal and toast notes, with lots of fresh red fruits and butterscotch.

FINISH: Hints of spicy oak, lots of dried fruit and a lingering nutty, dry note.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Best enjoyed on it’s own, but we don’t believe in rules when it comes to drinking whisky – sip this neat, over ice, in a cocktail – however you like!

In 1988, near a scenic stream called Lithia Creek in Ashland, Oregon, Jack Joyce and Bob Woodell, fraternity brothers at the University of Oregon, opened the doors of Rogue Brewery. For fifteen years, Rogue Brewery brewed beers such as Dead Guy Ale, Dad's Little Helper and Brutal IPA under the tutelage of John Maier, Rogue Brewery's brewmaster. Then, with the addition of Master Distiller John Couchot in 2003, Rogue Spirits was born. Couchot, who earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry at Evergreen State College in Washington, was a professional chemist for six years before jumping ship to make spirits. They take pride in all their whiskeys being handcrafted. This starts at the selection of grains, brewing, and distilling, then ends with aging and bottling. All Rogue's spirits are made from ingredients off their own Rogue farms and Oregon Single Malt Whiskey is no exception. It's a handcrafted single malt whiskey that's pot-distilled in small batches using malted barley that has been smoked using cherry and alder wood. It is aged for a minimum of 5 years in new American Oak barrels, char 3. It is then bottled at 80 proof with no chill filtering involved. 

John Emerald Distilling Company is a family-run small batch craft distillery from Opelika, Alabama that has been operational since 2014. It is the first legal distillery that opened in the state since the end of the Prohibition era, a year short of a hundred years later. It all started when John and his son Jimmy Sharp, both homebrewers, started looking into opening a brewery. Finding the market to be oversaturated, they turned to craft distilling instead and started rigorous training and education. They came upon an old cotton warehouse in Opelika, a small and business-friendly town where the mayor welcomed them with open arms. The distillery now operates on 8 thousand square feet and has a tasting room that is open for visitors. They produce several spirits using their 350-gallon hybrid pot, each product named after one of John's and Jimmy's ancestors their (grand) father John Emerald Sharp, a successful businessman, being the distillery's namesake. The spirits include award-winning gin, vodka, rum, and single malt. At the very core of their lineup is the John Emerald Alabama Single Malt Whiskey, the only one to share the name with the distillery itself. The style is between bourbon and Scotch whisky, or as they like to call it American single malt. A part of the 100% malted barley grain recipe is smoked with peach and pecan wood, and Alabama wine barrel staves are added for a touch of smoke and added complexity. The spirit then matures in Missouri Ozark charred oak barrels in a room that simulates the changing of seasons with variable temperature.

Single Malt whisky has always been the drive and passion behind Balcones. Over the years we have been inspired by and drawn to other spirit traditions, including the classic American spirit: Rum.  After a few small batches of our Texas Rum, we refilled the same casks with select Texas Single Malt, marrying two of our favorite things together to create a unique Texas Whisky. Bottled at cask strength, this is a bold Single Malt with notes of rock candy, spice cake and toasted oak.

Tasting Notes

NOSE: caramelized sugar, cherry cola, banana bread, sassafras, pistachio, peanut brittle, apple skins, peach cobbler

TASTE: big and full-bodied with tropical fruits, molasses, sweet black tea, gingerbread

FINISH: dry and long, hints of prickly cinnamon, burnt sugar and heavy oak

Our Mirador is a “second fill barrel malt profile” whisky. This bottling is made up of whiskies ranging from under 2 years to almost 5 years in age but because all of the aging took place in “used casks” the oak profile comes across much softer than some of our whiskies that are only half as old.

Tasting Notes

NOSE: under-ripe and green notes of pear, green apple skins and flower stems open up to honeysuckle and fallen leaves before revealing rich notes of honey, brown sugar and soft suede leather

TASTE: green fruit and light herbal aromas suggest green tea and honey with hints of fennel and lemongrass. As it breathes, the light fruit syrup impression concentrates and mingles with the soft spice notes to evoke apple pie with lemon curd, fruit salad with marshmallows and pecans and even a Rusty Nail with an accidental cucumber garnish

FINISH: the finish begins where the rich sweetness gets lifted by the citrus twang, drying to notes of sandalwood and marmalade before finally offering Earl Grey tea

Situated along the banks of the River Derwent on the island of Tasmania, Sullivans Cove was the site of one of Britain's first penal colonies in Australia. In 1804, at the order of the Governor King of the British settlement of New South Wales, Lt. John Bowen transported some of the most heinous British criminals to Sullivans Cove, which eventually developed into the city of Hobart. Hobart was the perfect penal colony the area's dense forests required a huge labor force in order to establish a settlement, and its isolation and inaccessibility ensured there was no escape. Today, the island of Tasmania remains one of the most isolated and natural places on earth approximately 37% of the island is protected as natural reserves. Sullivans Cove Single Malt Tasmanian Whisky is made from barley grown exclusively on the island of Tasmania. "The island's deep red basalt soil, pure water and mild temperatures result in a barley that is perfect for distillation," says Patrick Maguire, the distillery's founder and master distiller (his ancestors were convicts that were imprisoned on the island). In addition, the island has one of the oldest and strictest quarantine programs in the world, ensuring that the barley remains untainted. Once the barley has been harvested, it is malted at the Cascade Brewery by Roger Ibbott, who has over four decades of experience malting barley. The malted barley is then mashed and fermented at Sullivans Cove Distillery using a unique strain of yeast developed specifically for the production of Sullivans Cove Whisky. Then, the wash is distilled twice through a handmade copper-pot still. "The real trick is to cut the run short, so that only the sweetest, best flavors and purest alcohol from the heart of the run is captured", says Macguire. "It's not the most sensible approach by an accountant's standards, but then it's a good thing that we are not accountants!" The Old & Rare series holds their most precious whiskies. While they normally age their spirits between 10 and 12 years, some casks with exceptional qualities are singled out during maturation. These qualities make them suitable for longer aging periods, benefiting from the extended process. These Single Cask bottlings contain the oldest and rarest Australian whiskies. This particular expression has spent 17 years in its ex-bourbon American oak cask, before being bottled at 95 proof and labeled by hand. The bottle is presented in a unique wood box with a letter of authenticity that's signed by head distiller Patrick Maguire and production manager Heather Tillott.

Holmes Cay is an independent bottling company from New York City. Founded by New Yorker rum aficionado Eric Kaye in 2019, they focus on finding the very best rums and bottling them at cask strength. Kaye used to work as a producer and music composer for film, TV, and commercials, but has also been an avid diver for decades. His favorite pastime brought him into contact with fantastic rare Caribbean rums. He felt he needed to share these with his fellow Americans, which is how Holmes Cay came to be. Passionately standing behind the tradition and honor that is an integral part of rum, Kaye hopes to bring incredible as-of-yet-unknown unadulterated cask-strength rums to the US, introducing spirit-lovers to the best-kept secrets of the rum world. Their very first release Holmes Cay Barbados 2005 fittingly came from the legendary Foursquare Distillery in Barbados. Holmes Cay Belize 2005 follows in the footsteps of their recent releases of Barbados, Fiji, and Guyana rum. Crafted in collaboration with Travellers Liquors Distillery of Belize it's a 100% tropically-aged column-still rum that has spent 15 years in ex-bourbon barrels. Distilled in 2005 and bottled in 2020 at cask strength, this 122-proof rum has no sugar, color, or flavoring added. 4 casks of this rum were produced in total. 

Introducing Limited Release #01 from “The Rare Casks” series, featuring some of the world’s rarest casks, finished across a variety of years and released in small quantities within the U.S.

Bushmills 28 Year Old Single Malt Cognac Cask is the result of over 400 years of whiskey-making experience. This extremely rare, small quantity whiskey is rested in hand-selected ex-bourbon and sherry barrels for 11 years, & finally finished in Cognac casks for 17 years.

TASTING NOTES

Expertly crafted by Master Blender Helen Mulholland. On the nose, this whiskey introduces itself with an aroma of sweet, spicy wood. On the palate, deep, nuanced flavors of dried fruit intersperse with hints of almond and cinnamon.

Lineage is a marrying of the traditional Scotch Single Malts that have long been an inspiration to us with innovative approaches to grain and maturation to celebrate Texas provenance. Made from both Scottish and Texas-grown barley and aged in both refill and new oak barrels, Lineage celebrates both old and new traditions.

Tasting Notes

NOSE: Sweet and indulgent, sourdough starter and cream soda, mulled cider, bruised bananas and peaches, tea tree

TASTE: caramelized sweetness, soft oak, manuka honey, chestnuts and hint of red wine reduction

FINISH: late palate builds into the transition to finish, slight prickle with more tea tree, black tea and hint of cinnamon

Nearly 800 years ago, the O'Donnell Dynasty ruled an ancient Gaelic kingdom in northwest Ireland called Tyrconnell (Tyrconnell means "The Land of O'Donnell" in ancient Gaelic). In 1876, the family of Andrew Watt entered a horse named "The Tyrconnell" in an Irish horse race known as the The National Produce Stakes. Despite the 100-to-1 odds against him, Tyrconnell won the race and the Watt family, which had been producing whiskey since 1762, celebrated by launching the Tyrconnell label. The Tyrconnell Irish Whiskey became one of the best-selling Irish whiskies in the world and prior to Prohibition, was the best-selling Irish Whiskey in the United States. Ultimately, the drastic drop in sales the distillery experienced as a result of Prohibition caused it to close its doors in 1925. In 1987, the label was resurrected by the Cooley Distillery, which began producing The Tyrconnell Irish Whiskey once more. The Tyrconnell Single Malt Irish Whiskey is made using the finest Irish barley, which is steeped in pure spring water and allowed to germinate. Unlike many Scottish distilleries, Cooley Distillery does not use any smoke during the malting process, resulting in a cleaner taste of the malt and barley. After the barley is malted and mashed, yeast is added to the wort in order to begin fermentation. The wash is then distilled through the distillery's copper pot stills the stills' small size and long necks result in more contact between the whiskey and copper, and ultimately produce a more refined and layered spirit. Following distillation, the whiskey is matured for a decade in seasoned oak casks which are stored in a 200 year-old granite warehouse. The seasoned casks impart notes of vanilla and caramel to the whiskey, and add a hint of cinnamon. The Tyrconnell Sherry Cask Finish Whiskey is finished in used sherry casks for six to eight months. The sherry influence lends notes of raisins and honey to the whiskey, which are complemented by the whiskey's notes of tobacco, oak and cinnamon. The finish is soft and lingering, with hints of butterscotch and nutty dough. The Tyrconnell Sherry Cask Finish Whiskey earned a score of 94 points from Wine Enthusiast Magazine in 2012 and 97 points from the Beverage Testing Institute. 

Deep wood aroma, maltose, nectar, blueberry, Mizunara oak, milk coffee;Oily, ripe fruit, lemon peel, leather, cinnamon, and ginger.Finished with a hint of sweet malt with aromas of wooden barrels and a touch of fruity flavor.