Armorik Breizh French Whisky (Whisky Breton) 42%
Armorik Breizh is a blended whisky from the Warenghem distillery in Bretagne, France. The blend has (allegedly) a very high malt content of 50%.
Tasted: Feb 2013
Nose: A very young and cerealy nose with a slight gristiness and a slight oiliness and a slight oakiness. Lacking complexity really though.
Palate: Young, oily and cerealy.
Finish: Medium length with a crisp grain finish.
Conclusion: Too young with absolutely no input from the malt component.
Armorik Breizh Whisky Breton 42%
Best Blended European
Nose: Youthful peat, white fruit, apple and mentholated herbs. Quite estery with hints of pineapple and banana. With time it becomes quite sweet with just the barest hint of grain noticeable.
Palate: Light, attractive and smoky with citrus and white fruit. Oily middle with the peat turning a little dusty and the citrus becoming pleasantly sweet.
Finish: Good length with hints of coconut and creamy oak with some late spicy grain.
Conclusion: A pleasant, well put together peaty blend.
Armorik Breizh Whisky Breton Blended Single Distillerie 42%
Nose: Lovely aromas of succulent, mature, tropical fruit and sawdusty oak. Beautifully deep with a touch of manuka honey, white fruit, melon, barley and a lithe citrus note.
Palate: Soft and quite heavy on the vanilla. A little watery but it has some pleasant barley and honeyed moments. Still quite tropical with apricot, banana, citrus and a light spiciness.
Finish: Reasonable length with the fruit offsetting the slightly bittering oak.
Conclusion: If only the palate had a little more intensity, then it would have scored a lot higher.
Armorik Whisky Breton Double Maturation 7 year old, 46%
Matured in fresh Breton oak and then transferred to sherry butts for further maturation.
Tasted: Feb 2013
Nose: Briny, youthful cereal. Rather immature with a touch of cardboard.
Palate: Soft, oily cereal and cardboard. Not much else really!
Finish: Medium length with a confected finish.
Conclusion: Hmm, not great!
Armorik Whisky Breton Double Maturation 46%
Re-Tasted: July 2014
Nose: Gently phenolic with dense apricot and barley. Faintly briny with some lightly oiled orange and earthy peat. With time a crunchy granulated sugar note appears as the peat slinks off!
Palate: Opens with lightly oiled Satsuma and some pretty astringent herbal notes. Sweet barley and a light vanilla not try to balance. Intense, mouth-watering middle with a light peat intimation.
Finish: Reasonable length with a slight gritty peat smoke and light tannin finish along with the tart citrus and a touch of green apple in the after-taste.
Conclusion: A pleasant enough dram. I could have done with a little more intensity.
Amorik Maitre de Chai 46%
Tasted: Feb 2016
Nose: Pungently estery and very vanilla’d and toffee’d. Hints of herbal malt biscuits and a developing sultana sweetness. With time it becomes quite perfumed and buttery.
Palate: Not as perfumed as the nose but still young and estery with oily banana skin and pineapple. A little dusty barley arrives along with some drying oak notes on the middle.
Finish: Long, perfumed and sweet.
Conclusion: A little too perfumed.
Amorik Maitre de Chai 46%
Re-Tasted: Sept 2016
Nose: Wonderfully fresh and aromatic with sweet cherries in syrup, clove and toasty oak. Hints of barley and oxidised cognac-esque fruit, chalk and honey follow.
Palate: Full and robust with upfront oxidised dried fruit, followed by barley and a light syrup note. Quite mineral and chalky on the middle with subtle toasty oak, cinnamon and clove.
Finish: Long and exceptionally smooth with lingering oxidised fruit, drying oak and coffee.
Conclusion: Distinctly different and proving once again that great whisky making isn’t just the preserve of the Scottish.
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 