Amanda Slater from Coventry, West Midlands, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do · Shipston-on-Stour
Cotswolds Distillery
The distillery at Stourton, near Shipston-on-Stour, that made the first Cotswolds single malt whisky, with daily tours and tastings, a shop and the Still House Café.
A well-run tour of a working whisky and gin distillery in open country, with a generous tasting at the end. Adults only, and the driver gets a takeaway pack. Book ahead at weekends.
- Good: Tours every day; drivers get a takeaway tasting pack
- Good: Free parking; shop and café open to all
- Good: VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Gold, 2023
- Worth knowing: Experiences are for over-18s only
- Worth knowing: No dogs on tours
- Worth knowing: Cancel at least 48 hours ahead for a refund (14 days for groups of five or more)
About
The Cotswolds Distillery sits among fields at Stourton, a few miles from Shipston-on-Stour on the Warwickshire edge of the Cotswolds. Dan Szor opened it in July 2014, made gin while the first whisky aged, and in October 2017 released the first single malt ever distilled in the Cotswolds, from barley grown at Akeman Street Farm nearby. A new distillery, four times the size of the first, opened in January 2023.
The Tour and Tasting takes about 90 minutes and costs £30 (2026): round the stills and the cask warehouse, then a guided tasting that starts with the Cotswolds Dry Gin and the Signature Single Malt and lets you choose the rest. Tours run at 11am and 2pm from Sunday to Thursday, and at 10.30am, 1pm and 3pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Drivers and non-drinkers get a takeaway tasting pack. For more, there are cocktail masterclasses (£65, two hours) and whisky blending masterclasses (£100, two and a half hours, with a 400ml bottle of your own blend).
Book online (opens in a new tab), especially for weekends. The experiences are for over-18s only, and dogs cannot join them. You do not need a tour to visit: the shop opens from 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 5pm on Sunday, and the Still House Café, beside the still house, opens every day from 10am to 5pm, with food until 3.30pm, a terrace for warmer months and no table bookings. Dogs on leads are welcome in the café. Parking is free. The distillery also has shops in Bourton-on-the-Water and Broadway.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Wednesday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Thursday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Friday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Saturday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Sunday | 10:00 to 17:00 |
Visitor centre hours. Tours 11am and 2pm Sunday to Thursday; 10.30am, 1pm and 3pm Friday and Saturday. Masterclasses on set dates.
Facilities
- Still House CaféEvery day 10am to 5pm, food until 3.30pm; no table bookings; dogs on leads welcome
- Distillery shopMonday to Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sunday 10am to 5pm
- ParkingFree, on site
The details
- Time to allow
- About two hours, with the tour and a coffee
- Features
- Café · Shop · Parking · Guided tours
- Awards
- VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Gold (2023)
- History
- Opened in July 2014 by Dan Szor
- Parking
- Free parking on site. Sat nav: if CV36 5EX fails, use The Long Close, CV36 5HT (what3words circus.cattle.glosses).
Photos
A copper still Photo: Amanda Slater from Coventry, West Midlands, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
A single malt cask Photo: Amanda Slater from Coventry, West Midlands, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
A sharing board in the café 
The wetland meadows
Location
Places to stay nearby
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The Bower House
Inn · Shipston-on-Stour
A restaurant with five bedrooms in a Grade II listed Georgian townhouse on Market Place, Shipston-on-Stour, with a family suite that has a bunk room for two children.
Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The George Townhouse
Pubs · Shipston-on-Stour
A Grade II listed coaching inn on the High Street in Shipston-on-Stour, now a pub, restaurant and 15-bedroom hotel serving breakfast from 8am and an all-day menu, with Brakspear ales.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Whichford Pottery 2.3 km away
- The Bower House 5.8 km away
- Mrs Browns Tea Rooms 5.8 km away
- The George Townhouse 5.8 km away
Sights nearby
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St Martin's Church, Barcheston
Sight · Church · Shipston-on-Stour
St Martin's Church in Barcheston, half a mile south-east of Shipston-on-Stour, is a small stone church of about 1200 with a leaning medieval tower, a Norman south doorway and the alabaster tomb of William Willington, wool merchant, and his wife Anne. Grade II*.