WhTN: French whisky ?!

Armorik Whisky Breton Single Malt Sherry Finish - Distilerie Warenghem, Lannion, Britanny - (c.€25).

Don't laugh.

To my whisk(e)y fairly inexperienced palate this is really good. The spelling hints at its Scottish affinities. More tender, perhaps, than most Scotch which has come my way, it shows elegant and well integrated notes of malt, smoky cedar with iodine traces reminiscent of Islay's in a much milder way and good persistence on the finish without the touch of coarseness which I find in some Speyside malts in the same price beacket.

Germaine, even less a whisky person than me but perceptive, complained that it was a bit too soft and even sweet to cut through and correct the sweet taste in her mouth from her dessert, different from mine. I can understand that but I would add that there is nothing cloying here.

Very good.

Unusual post for you Tim. Are the folks in Normandy big whisky drinkers with your arrival .

Unusual post for you Tim. Are the folks in Normandy big whisky drinkers with your arrival .

They already were , Bob, judging by the wide choice of whiskies on sale at the local supermarkets, mainly malts. I think that they prefer it to the local Calvados, which the young regard as "ringard" (= old fashioned); a mistake IMO because good Calva is delicious. Whisky prices look quite good too, c.€25 for Glenfiddich.

The French drink lots of whisky (mostly blended Scotch).

There's no particular reason that whiskey from France can't be good.

Especially since nowadays, non-Scotch malt whisky is rated high-quality in such places as Japan (and rightfully so), India (think Amrut, although in truth there's an incredible amount of really bad spurious "whisky" being made there as well), Tasmania, Taiwan, and Oregon, to name a few.

Yeah, Scotch has the lead because it is closely relegated, upholds some pretty high standards, has the benefit of centuries of experience to call on, and has become quite efficient over the years at production, distribution and effective marketing, but other places are more than capable in making whisky.

Hoke, this week's Figaro Magazine contains an interview with a certain Jean Donnay, who owns a whisky distillery in Brittany, called Glan al Mor. Compared with Scotland, he claims the same countryside, same climate, same culture and, with Ireland, a comparable Celtic history. "Same countryside, same climate" stretch the truth but he has the grace to say that "Scotland is to Brittany the same as a grand cru classé is to an honest vin de pays." (For as long as Scotland stays in the UK, I feel a patriotic pride in Scotch whisky .) This guy even goes a step further. He is intending to set up a distillery on Islay .

Hoke, this week's Figaro Magazine contains an interview with a certain Jean Donnay, who owns a whisky distillery in Brittany, called Glan al Mor. Compared with Scotland, he claims the same countryside, same climate, same culture and, with Ireland, a comparable Celtic history. "Same countryside, same climate" stretch the truth but he has the grace to say that "Scotland is to Brittany the same as a grand cru classé is to an honest vin de pays." (For as long as Scotland stays in the UK, I feel a patriotic pride in Scotch whisky .) This guy even goes a step further. He is intending to set up a distillery on Islay .

Fun coincidence: I am right now in the midst of reading two separate books discussion those same similarities/connections between Brittany and the British Isles. One is a compendium of Irish history, the other is a book by an Englisman about France and continental Europe's development from the Celtic tribes, through and around the Romans, until the coalescence of modern states. Also supports exactly the same contention about Brittany/Brittania.

Also recently sat down with a Frenchwoman from Brittany (who lives in Portland and in the Caribbean at a rhum distillery) who laughingly said she felt like she was living in the British Isles rather than France much of the time.

So, yes, clear connections.