Armorik Whisky de Bretagne Small Batch

Like most small craft distilleries, quality is the main concern for the team at Armorik and their whisky is therefore fermented, distilled, matured and bottled at the distillery itself under the watchful eye of owner David Roussier. Click here to see David’s special message for the Club.

The distillery’s water source is a 100m deep well called Rest Avel and unlike the rest of France, Brittany is on granite bedrock, not limestone. This makes the water slightly acidic and helps develop fruity aromas during fermentation. Armorik uses strictly French Non-GMO barley from the Champagne region, namely the Prestige, Sebastian and Beatrix varieties, malting is done in Belgium and it’s generally unpeated. Fermentation takes place over four days using two yeasts, one to generate fruity notes and the other for alcohol yield. As with all single malts, the wash undergoes a double distillation in copper pot stills, with Armorik using a very high cut point to preserve fruity esters. The stills are based on the Scottish style but engineered in Cognac and they are one of the only distilleries in France with traditional Scottish style stills.

Armorik currently produces around 150,000 LAP/Year. In terms of output this makes it about 1.5 times larger than a distillery like Sullivans Cove in Tasmania but roughly 3.5 times smaller than a small Scottish enterprise like Benromach.

Armorik releases are generally matured in a mix of American oak ex-bourbon casks from Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hill, Spanish oak ex-Oloroso sherry casks from Bodega Jose Y Miguel Martin and locally sourced Breton oak, sourced in the local forests of Brittany through a partnership with the last remaining Breton cooper. The warehouse is also full of all sorts of casks used for French wines and spirits like Armagnac, Cognac, Sauternes etc. and these are usually bottled as limited edition single casks – clearly another huge advantage of producing whisky in a country like France!

Our release this month is a little bit different from the typical Armorik release – created and bottled exclusively for the Club, it’s the first 100% American oak matured Armorik single malt in Australia. The selection and vatting of the casks was made to obtain a balance that showcases both the exceptional quality of Armorik’s rich, fruity distillate and the quality of the selected casks. Ten casks were used to create our release; one virgin American oak cask distilled in 2013 provides structure, five first fill ex-Jack Daniel’s American oak casks distilled in 2014 provide sweetness and smoothness, while four refilled American Oak ex-bourbon casks distilled in 2012 accentuate the distillate’s fruity notes.

Bottled at 46%ABV, un-chillfiltered and at natural colour, this is a stunningly moreish malt whisky that oozes confidence and shows just how good the rest of the world can be at making whisky.