Cotswolds Distillery founder Daniel Szor launches his first book

The founder and CEO of the Cotswolds Distillery, Daniel Szor, has launched his first book. Spirit Guide: In search of an authentic life explores his life as a New York financier turned English spirits distiller and reflects on the passion for whisky which led him to cross the Atlantic to live his dream.

A native New Yorker and son of Polish immigrants, Szor worked in finance for 30 years and travelled to cities around the world before relocating his family to a farmhouse in the Cotswolds and starting his own distillery. 

As well as recounting one man's journey into the spirits industry and his foundation of what is now a prolific whisky and gin distillery, Spirit Guide is also an exploration of the other kind of spirit: the personal drive and passion which brought Szor to England and pushes so many others to do extraordinary things, particularly in times of hardship.

It was while working for a New York finance firm in a job he had little passion for that Szor's infatuation with spirits, in particular whisky, was formed, along with a deep appreciation for people who make 'real things'.

While it was a series of difficult personal circumstances that brought Szor and his family to the Cotswolds, it opened the door in his mind to the idea of distilling whisky in this bucolic corner of England. After being made redundant, Szor began pursuing the idea of setting up a distillery with earnest and, with the help of a few people from the industry, the Cotwolds Distillery came into being.

Six years on, Szor has taken time to reflect on the experiences that brought him to his present situation and what lessons he may be able to pass on to others looking for a way to live to work, not just work to live.

Spirit Guide: In search of an authentic life is on sale now.

12 November 2020 - Bethany Whymark