From Whisky to Wildlife: The Cotswolds Distillery Wetlands
Making whisky takes a lot of water. For years, the question was what to do with it once the stills had done their work. Our answer is growing just a short walk from the distillery: nearly two acres of wetlands that have been cleaning our wastewater naturally since 2024, giving Cotswolds wildlife a thriving new home.
Why we built our own wetlands
Every batch of whisky leaves water behind. Some of it is spent lees, the liquid left in the still after the second distillation. The rest is wash water from rinsing tanks, floors and equipment. Before the wetlands, much of it had to leave the site by tanker for treatment elsewhere. That meant more lorries on quiet Cotswolds lanes and a bigger footprint than we wanted.
We wanted a better way, and one that fit the landscape we love. Our founder, Dan Szor, put it simply: “We have been looking for ways to improve our waste management.” A wetland was the natural fit, letting us cut waste and transport while creating a haven for wildlife at the same time.
How the Wetlands Ecological Treatment System works
Our Wetlands Ecological Treatment System, or WETS, is a series of planted cells, ponds and reedbeds. Water flows through each stage in turn. The plants and the natural biological processes around their roots break down the compounds in the water, cleaning it as it goes.
The system treats around three quarters of our whisky making wastewater. That reduces our waste by tens of thousands of litres every week. The clean water that comes out the other end irrigates a coppice of willows, which in turn provides shelter and habitat for wildlife.
Work began in May 2023, and the system was designed and built by Living Water Ecosystems and Rachael White Designs, led by an RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner. Planting took place in August 2023, giving everything time to settle in before the wetlands officially opened in summer 2024. The project was funded by our investors, Berry Bros & Rudd.
A home for Cotswolds wildlife
The land the wetlands now cover used to be marshland with little biodiversity. Two years on, it’s one of the most lively corners of the distillery.
Alongside the reedbeds and ponds, we’ve created:
- Species rich grassland and a wildflower area for pollinators
- Two native hedgerows that act as wildlife corridors
- A permanent wildlife pond for amphibians and aquatic insects
- Bird and bat boxes, log piles, compost heaps and insect hotels
- Two beehives to support local pollinators
The site is home to hedgehogs, harvest mice, bats, toads, newts, reptiles and pollinators of all kinds. It also sits within a Buglife B-Line, part of a national network of pathways that helps insects move across the countryside. It’s linked to the Glorious Cotswolds Grasslands initiative, one of the UK’s largest wildflower meadow restoration projects.
Measurable results
We didn’t want to just say the wetlands were good for nature. We wanted to prove it. A 2024 Biodiversity Net Gain analysis found a net gain of 1.28 habitat units and 1.40 hedgerow units across the site, a real improvement on what was there before.
In 2025, the project was named Biodiversity Achievement of the Year at the Global Drinks Intel ESG Awards. The judges called it “a wonderful example of turning what is usually negative into a massive positive and net gain.”
Watch the wetlands grow
On Earth Day, 22nd April 2025, almost a year after the wetlands were installed, we went behind the scenes to see how they had changed. Watch the video below to see the system at work and how the site was taking shape in its first year.
Watch: Cotswolds Distillery Wetlands Ecological Treatment System
Visit us and see it for yourself
Our wetlands are part of a bigger promise: making outstanding natural spirits in a way that gives back to the Cotswolds landscape we call home. Join us on a Tour & Tasting to discover how our gin and whisky are made, from grain to glass.