Hall of Fame

Daniel Szor is the founder and CEO of The Cotswolds Distillery, the first full-scale distillery established in the Cotswolds region. Born and raised in New York City, Dan spent much of his professional career in Paris and London, specialising in the sales and marketing of currency investment management services. For more than 25 years he was part of the senior management team at FX Concepts, a New York-based currency management firm, where he established and managed offices in both Paris and London. Dan’s passion for whisky began during his years living in Paris. In 2002 he purchased his first cask at the newly reopened Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay and closely followed the distillery’s revival under legendary whisky maker Jim McEwan. Later, after purchasing a farmhouse in the North Cotswolds with his wife, Dan fell in love with the region and recognised the opportunity to create a premium craft spirits business inspired by the growing demand for artisanal whisky and gin. Encouraged by Jim McEwan and supported by whisky experts Harry Cockburn and the late Dr Jim Swan, Dan founded The Cotswolds Distillery in 2014. Today, the Cotswolds Distillery employs more than 50 people and has become one of the UK’s fastest-growing premium spirits brands, exporting to over 30 countries. The distillery opened a Visitor Centre, shop and café in 2019 and expanded production in 2022 with the addition of a second distillery to meet growing demand for Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky. The site has become one of the region’s leading visitor attractions, offering award-winning tours and tastings that showcase the distillery’s traditional production methods and range of spirits and liqueurs. Dan currently serves as Chair of the English Whisky Guild, which promotes and protects the growing English whisky industry. In 2025 he was installed as the 378th Master of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, one of the City of London’s historic Livery Companies founded in 1638. Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky was the first whisky ever distilled in the Cotswolds and remains the world’s best-selling English single malt whisky. Made using 100% locally grown floor-malted barley and matured in first-fill ex-Bourbon barrels and reconditioned red wine casks, the whisky is known for its rich, fruity character with notes of honey, Seville orange marmalade and dark red fruits. Each bottle highlights the barley variety, harvest year and the local farm where the barley was grown.