Armorik Classic Whisky Breton

Colour is very bright gold. Smells like cherry wood, caramel and alcohol. Mouthfeel is quite rich and reminiscent of glycerin. Flavours a little like a sweet Balvenie. Raisins and rum.

The distillery Warenghem was founded in 1990 in Lannion, in the French Brittany region. They produce 5 whiskies: three blends (Whisky Breton, Galleg and Breizh) and two single malts (Armorik and Armorik Double Maturation). We’ll try the Armorik Single Malt that first appeared on the market in 1998.

The nose needs time. It starts off with carton and a whiff of smoke, a little yeast… Hmmm, this is a young malt. But after a few minutes it becomes nicely fruity with apples, citrus and even a little banana. There is also a hint of sea breeze. It started out somewhat meagre, but opened up nicely after a while.

It’s soft and sweet on the delivery, but soon the wood starts to dominate, turning the dram a little sour and bitter.

The wood and slight smoke take care of the finish, that isn’t all that long, but the death is (too) bitter.

Jim Murray gave this one no less than 91 points in his 2010 edition of the Whisky Bible. He wrote: ‘I admit it, I blanched when I first nosed this, so vivid was the memory of the last bottling. This, though, was the most pleasant of surprises. Fabulous stuff: one of the most improved malts in the world.’

Well… I admit it, I blanched when I first read this. I cannot possibly agree. While I have not tasted any previous bottlings, this one stays in the low seventies for me.