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Armorik Double Maturation

woody malty
€58France, Single Malt

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Whisky character

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Taste mentions

Facts

In Lannion, on Brittany's north coast, Distillerie Warenghem sends its spirit into casks made from Breton oak. A local cooper builds them from wood cut in nearby forests. Very few whiskies anywhere start life in oak grown that close to the still. After several years the whisky moves into oloroso sherry casks, and the character shifts. Citrus and mirabelle on the nose give way to honey, spice and dried fruit. There is cocoa somewhere underneath, and the texture stays oily. The late Dr. Jim Swan helped shape this wood programme. You can taste the thinking in the glass.

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About the distillery

Distillery

Armorik

On the north coast of Brittany, in the town of Lannion in France, Distillerie Warenghem has made spirits since 1900. It began life producing liqueurs, long before whisky took hold here. The company has stayed independent and family-owned for more than a century. When single malt finally arrived, it carried the name Armorik, an old word for Brittany itself. The whisky is mashed, fermented, distilled, aged and bottled entirely on site. It is left at its natural colour and is not chill-filtered, which keeps the fruity, local character intact. Warenghem belongs to a small group of pioneers who proved France could make its own malt whisky. In 1998 it released Armorik, the first Breton single malt. That bottling helped open the door for the wider French whisky scene.

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15Whiskies on Distilld

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About the Armorik Double Maturation

Armorik Double Maturation is a single malt whisky from Brittany, in northern France. Distillerie Warenghem makes it in Lannion, a town near the Channel coast. The distillery released Brittany's first single malt in 1998. Everything here starts with organically grown French barley. Bottled at 46% ABV, the whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured. Two very different cask types shape it, and that is the whole point. The first maturation happens in casks built from Breton oak. Warenghem works with a local cooper who sources wood from forests in the region. Few distilleries anywhere age spirit in oak grown on their own doorstep. The current recipe also carries the fingerprints of Dr. Jim Swan. The late cask expert advised Warenghem on its wood techniques. He reworked the approach, and the whisky changed with it. The nose opens with citrus and mirabelle, backed by vanilla and warm spice. Honey arrives early on the palate, then the oak steps forward. Sherry casks bring dried fruit and a soft leather note. There is cocoa in the background, and the texture stays oily rather than thin. Malty cereal sits underneath it all. The finish is sweet and honeyed, holding on longer than 46% usually suggests. Armorik Double Maturation sits apart because of that Breton oak stage. Ageing in local wood before an oloroso finish is a rare combination. The sherry casks round everything off without burying the malt underneath. You get woody depth and sherry sweetness in one glass. The whisky also picked up Best European Single Malt at the 2013 World Whiskies Awards. For anyone curious about Brittany's whisky, this is a fair place to start.