Cotswolds Distillery

With backing from The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and private investors, the amazing team at Cotswold Distillery had a vision for a visitor centre that would enable them to give back to their loyal customers who came to see how their incredible gin and whiskies are made. Numbers had grown from 7,000 in 2015 to an astounding 30,000 by 2018!

The new centre was designed with the help of MDG Architects to host masterclasses in distilling and blending, alongside facilities which include a ‘meet & greet’ for visitors, a shop and café with an outdoor seating terrace and meeting space for the sales team.

Located in a Cotswold valley, the site originally started with a small office building and distillery. The design for the new visitor centre proposed a modern building design centred around traditional and natural materials to allow it to age and blend with the existing surroundings. This would sit between and adjoining the two existing buildings. Finishes, fixtures and fittings were selected to create a quintessentially British experience.

The building design uses famous yellow Cotswold stone, alongside natural timber cladding, a zinc roof and ‘Crittall’ style metal glazing. An open fire creates a strong centre piece to the café area, while a wood burning stove provides a cosy corner in the tasting room.

Chiltern were appointed to construct and fit-out the building which was carried out through the winter of 2018/19 and was complete in Spring, ready for an extensively booked visitor diary!