The Armorik Single Malt is a French whisky produced by the Warenghem Distillery in the Breton region of France. Armorik has no age statement and is matured in ex-bourbon casks. As one of only three French whisky distilleries in operation, we were understandably curious as to how a French single malt would stand up to its Scottish cousins. Nose: A sour sweetness provides extreme notes of overripe fruits. Mashed bananas and apple sauce are the main elements, however this nose is very muddled and does not have any extremely defining characteristics. Some breadiness and waxy butter notes provide an overall strong, but not overly enjoyable nosing experience.
Palate: Like the nose, very sweet. Although this is a single malt, there is a flavour here reminiscent of a grain whisky. It is overall light-bodied with a cereal maltiness. Some white grapes, baking spices and just a hint of cocoa round out the palate. There is significant heat, indicating that this is a fairly young whisky.
Finish: Dry and tongue-tingling hot. I don't say this of many whiskies, but this one dries you out like peroxide. There is a lingering sweet & sour, but no identifiable flavours to speak of.
Overall: This whisky has potential, but in our opinion has not been aged long enough. There is a slight foulness, that while not overly off-putting, isn't made up for in any other areas either. While the box and label of the product are beautifully designed, they outclass the quality of the malt itself. One of ScotchBlog's writers commented, "The more you drink, the more sickly it becomes". This is a muddled, simple whisky that we would not be compelled to buy it again.
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