The last “world” whisky we had was Hammer Head Czech whisky, in January 2015, and the last cask strength whisky we had was Glenfarclas 105 in November 2014. So this ticks a couple of over-due boxes.

The Warenghem distillery in Brittany has been distilling fruit and plant liqueurs since the late 19th century, but only started producing whiskies under the brand name Armorik, since 1998.
Millésime means “vintage”. This 2002 vintage was bottled in 2014, making it 12 years old. I think I’m right in saying that this is the oldest vintage they’ve ever released. It is one of only 723 bottles released worldwide.

http://distillerie-warenghem.com/en/

Cost: £70
70cl / 55.7%

Tasting Notes*

Nose: Rich sherry nose, but it has a light sweetness. Nutmeg. Delicate notes of caramel with a salty touch. raisins, stewed red fruits, sweet oranges. Some floral notes and some grass and greenery (unripe fruits), pineapples. Flint, cassis jam

Palate: Rich and full-bodied. Sweet, spicy – white pepper and cloves. Caramel and dried fruits. Ginger cake. Apples, sweet ginger, oak, cut grass.

Finish: The peppery and spicy notes linger. Massive doses of caramel and honey. Creamy and rich. Fairly long and warm finish. A lovely dessert! Vanilla ice cream with rich caramel sauce – with a sprinkle of salt.

*Tasting notes from Whisky Fun and Whisky Saga.

Packaging

The heavily embossed labels are nice. Everything about it says delicate and classy.

Verdict

Everyone was pleasantly surprised by this classy French whisky, and it is definitely worth trying. I would be keen to try others from this distillery. From this country, even. It opened up a little with water, and became more rounded, but it was very easy to drown it.

For people who care about this kind of thing, the 2014 Whisky Bible awarded the Armorik Millésime 2002 10 year old (cask #3300) a staggering 92 Points.