French Whisky - Why it will surprise you

In this video I´ll walk you through a french whisky tasting I hosted recently. France has become one of my favorite whisky countries in mainland Europe and I will take you on the road through france. French whisky has come a long way. From the young and promising whiskys in the north to the birthplace of french whisky brittany (or whisky breton) to the french alpes in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes whisky is being made.
Come with me on the roads of france to discover some great single malt whiskies.
Infos about the whiskies in this video:
Le Breuil Origine
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Origin: Normandy, Northern France
Distillery: Château du Breuil
ABV: 46% Vol.
Age: No age statement
Chill filtration: un-chill filtered
Color: natural color
Maturation: American Oak & French Oak
Malt: Golden promise
Price: Germany: 40 € / UK: 67 £ / USA: 75 $
Glann Ar Mor Single Malt
Type: Breton Single Malt Whisky
Origin: Brittany, France
Distillery: Celtic Whisky Distillerie
ABV: 46% Vol.
Age: No age statement
Chill filtration: un-chill filtered
Color: natural color
Maturation: Ex-bourbon
Price: Germany: 72 € / UK: 90 £ / USA: ? $
Artesia Fut Noir Char#3
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Origin: Hauts de France
Distillery: TOS Distillery
ABV: 46% Vol.
Age: No age statement (3 years, 5 months)
Chill filtration: un-chill filtered (?)
Color: natural color (?)
Maturation: Ex-bourbon + fut noir cask finish (level 3 char)
Price: Germany: ? € / UK: 68 £ / USA: 75 $
Armorik 16 years old Single Cask No. 3308
Type: Breton Single Malt Whisky
Origin: Brittany, France
Distillery: Warenghem Distillery
ABV: 45,2% Vol.
Age: 16 years
Chill filtration: un-chill filtered (?)
Color: natural color
Maturation: Ex-sherry cask no. 3308 - single cask
Price: Germany: 187 € / UK: ? £ / USA: ? $
Domaine des Hautes Glaces 2016/2020
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Origin: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Distillery: Domaine des Hautes Glaces
Bottled by: Maison du whisky
ABV: 55,2% Vol.
Age: no age statement
Chill filtration: un-chill filtered
Color: natural color
Maturation: Ex-wine cask St. Joseph 2nd fill organic white wine - single cask no. H1N1
Price: Germany: 120 € / UK: 153 £ / USA: ? $
Kornog Single Malt PX Single Cask
Type: Breton Single Malt Whisky
Origin: Brittany, France
Distillery: Celtic Whisky Distillerie
ABV: 56,2% Vol.
Age: No age statement
Chill filtration: un-chill filtered
Color: natural color
Maturation: Ex-Pedro ximenez sherry cask - single cask
Price: Germany: 119 € / UK: 76 £ (for similar standard bottling) / USA: ? $

[@WhiskyJason1]

Thanks Leon!

[@NickWheals]

Another informative and interesting video. Sante!

[@MaltMariners-WhiskyRoads]

Thanks buddy 🙏🏼

[@umami0247]

Great review really didn’t know about French whisky at all. I certainly would like to try them if I see them here in the states. Enjoy!!

[@MaltMariners-WhiskyRoads]

Cheers buddy! I hope you can get your hands on an Armorik sometime.

[@GregsWhiskyGuide]

Great video, Leon, good job, and also rather good French prononciation too ! 👍Also kudos to introduce to English viewers other French distilleries than the first ones which I guess now most of people heard of (Celtic Whisky Distillerie, Warenghem), not many people cover that on KZbin...Great opportunity also for you to visit the distilleries & get your hands on some single casks I haven't even tried myself for some...Just a few things regarding some of the facts you mention or questioned...Warenghem did start distilling whisky in 1983, not 1993 and released its first whisky (a blended whisky made of wheat & barley) in 1987, while their first single-malt was released in 1998. TOS Distillery's whiskies (Artesia) are not chill filtered & non coloured and I told them it was a pity there were not mentioning it...Also, beyond the "Fût Noir/Char #3" (not an distillery exclusive, but commissioned by La MDW), if you wanna get closer in my opinion to the distillery house style, I really recommend you to try the one called "Pur Malt Whisky" (a single malt in fact, despite its name) which happens to be a distillery exclusive, unfortunately. Also, one of their novelties of this year is a powerful high strength version made with White Port ("Fût de Porto blanc"), btw and I'm tasting it (first impressions) in English in my latest video. I will also have 2 members of the distillery in a live show on my channel next monday (it is in French but English questions are welcomed & we'll try to answer to them as much as we can... Now D.H.G. wise (Domaine des Hautes Glaces), indeed, I think what they do is "super craft", but often very challenging (I agree with your impressions on the house style), but they're currently changing a bit, so we'll see in a few years...Other French distilleries are worth having a look/taste, problem is that, for some, as you mentioned it, they're going to be hard to find not only abroad, but often outside their own region...What is sure for me is that our whisky scene has never been so exciting as nowadays, with so many new distilleries registered & 83 coming on with a finished product, even if you'll struggle (me too) to get half of them at your door & at a fair price...Cheers & keep on bringing us good reports & overviews (& tbh, my German being rusted, so I'm also interested to hear about German distilleries, beyond the 2 or 3 I already know-btw one of them is mentioned in my latest video about WLP...).

[@MaltMariners-WhiskyRoads]

Thanks Greg for your comment and interesting additions! I’m certainly planning to do a video about every whisky making country at a certain point and I can’t wait to visit more french distilleries! 😊

[@GregsWhiskyGuide]

You're welcome@@MaltMariners-WhiskyRoads Leon, tbh i could have added another distillery to the list (Northmaen) but people will say it is a biased comment as I did create a whisky for them, but if you're interested I did record an English version of my explanation video about it, the only problem is that it is not classified in the "video" section but the live one as the HD upload failed (so less visual quality unfortunately, while the French version video is better & with more pics shown. Best wishes for your upcoming distillery visits !

[@MaltMariners-WhiskyRoads]

scotchwhisky.com/magazine/in-depth/15173/gartbreck-distillery-is-there-still-hope/ The link to the article about Glann Ar Mor and Gartbreck Distillery