SMWS 157.2 (Warenghem 7yo 2016/2024)

SMWS 157.2 (Warenghem 7yo 2016/2024)

2024, SMWS
Single malt - Brittany
Amber
61.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Toffee, fresh cut grass, hay, chocolate, cinnamon, coffee, hints of brown paper. With water, coffee, toffee, cinnamon, chillies. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, thickens, hot, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Chocolate, cinnamon, black tea, hay, raisins, leather, toffee, hints of damson jam. With water, coffee, chocolate, toffee, cinnamon. 
Finish: Medium. Coffee, hay, brown paper, cinnamon. 

Comments: 

Very sweet and grassy, lots of cinnamon notes. These become more prominent with water, and combine with coffee and chocolate too. A very active cask, which obscures the best characteristics of the distillery though.

Verdict:

I like this.

Armorik Whisky Breton

Armorik Whisky Breton

Official bottling 
Single malt - Brittany
Lemon yellow
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Magic marker, leather, lemon zest, malted grains, hay, hints of white pepper. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, warm, slightly oily. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Leather, lemon zest, white pepper, vanilla, marshmallows, hay, hints of roast pork. 
Finish: Medium. Malted grains, leather, white pepper, magic marker, pear drops. 

Comments: 

Entry level Armorik. It’s meaty and estery, quite a hefty, oily whisky. It’s a bit like eating a meal, lots of differences between initial sip and end sip. Rewards introspection, something quite unusual for a NAS core range bottling.

Verdict:

I like this.

Armorik Triagoz

Armorik Triagoz

Official bottling 
Single malt - Brittany
Straw
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon sweets, green tea, sandalwood, smoke, fresh cut grass, hints of tobacco leaf. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, tingly, loosens, warm. 
Tasting:  Sour bitter. Fresh cut grass, tobacco leaf, honey, vanilla, green tea, coffee, malted grains. 
Finish: Short. Coffee, green tea, malted grains, fresh cut grass. 

Comments: 

Distilled in 2013. It’s got great complexity, and a big heap of cereal as a backbone. Lots of herbal, bitter notes dance on the tongue. Great stuff.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Armorik Sherry Cask

Armorik Sherry Cask 

Official bottling 
Single malt - Brittany
Pale copper
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Caramel, black tea, raisins, cinnamon, brown paper, orange peel, hints of pomegranates. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, cool, expands. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Raisins, black tea, butterscotch, cinder toffee, pomegranates, hints of black pepper. 
Finish: Medium. Caramel, raisins, white grapes, orange peel, black pepper. 

Comments: 

Relatively straightforward whisky, lots of sweet sherried notes, with some interesting fruity notes such as pomegranates. It’s got a nice toffee / spicy finish, and is a pleasant drink.

Verdict:

I like this.

Armorik Millesime 14yo 2002/2016

Armorik Millesime 14yo 2002/2016

Official bottling 
Single malt - Brittany
Pink
59.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Roast chicken, black tea, strawberries, red grapes, cloves, sandalwood, vanilla ice cream, hints of honeydew melons, hints of honeysuckle. With water, vanilla ice cream, sandalwood, strawberries, hints of black tea. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, cool, tingly, loosens. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Artificial grape flavour, roast chicken, sandalwood, peaches, strawberries, vanilla ice cream, honeysuckle, hints of orange peel. With water, honeydew melons, orange peel, black tea, hints of lychees. 
Finish: Long. Roast chicken, sandalwood, cloves, orange peel, peaches. 

Comments: 

Cask 3309. Extremely fruity, sherry finished whisky, lots of tropical and stone fruit, as well as vanilla ice cream. There’s a meaty note as well, that tinges the whisky with an alluring savour.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Armorik Dervenn

Armorik Dervenn

Official bottling 
Single malt - Brittany
Copper 
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Toffee, caramel, butterscotch, coffee, orange peel, hints of sulphur. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, tingly, hot. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Toffee, orange peel, vanilla, coffee, hints of cinnamon. 
Finish: Medium. Toffee, dark chocolate, coffee, orange peel. 

Comments: 

Caramelly, lots of orange peel and vanilla, and a slight tang of coffee. Breton single malt, quite Celtic in character, but not that interesting, but equally, it’s not bad. Needs aging perhaps, quite a lot of these NAS malts do. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Armorik 14yo 2002/2016 Single Cask 3309

Armorik 14yo 2002/2016 Single Cask 3309

Official bottling 
Single malt - Brittany
Amber, hints of copper
56.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Leather, peat, honey, winter melon, pears, hints of mint. With water, lemon zest, green apples, walnut skins. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, tingly, astringent, hot. 
Tasting:  Sour bitter. Winter melon, green apples, pears, walnut skins, leather, peat, hints of toast. With water, lemon zest, green apples, more leather, walnut skins, black tea. 
Finish: Long. Orange peel, lemon zest, peat, leather, green apples. 

Comments: 

Cask 3309 as it says on the bottle. Quite complex in its own way, lots of fruit and more than a hint of peat. It tastes older than it is, and is very pleasurable to drink at cask strength. Lovely bitter finish.

Verdict:

I like this.

Armorik Maitre de Chai 2008 (6 yo 2008/2015)

Armorik Maitre de Chai 2008 (6 yo 2008/2015)

Official bottling
Single malt - Brittany
Amber rose
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Leather, walnuts, orange peel, smoked ham, plums, hints of sea salt . 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, tingly, slightly astringent. 
Tasting:  Bitter salty. Sea salt, driftwood smoke, raisins, plums, peanuts, hints of leather. 
Finish: Long. Peanuts, sea salt, plums, driftwood smoke. 

Comments: 

Hmm... salty! Fruity, meaty, but above all salty. Plenty of smoke and peat too, with a glorious chewy meatiness that makes the mouth water. Good whisky, this.

Verdict:

I like this.

Armorik Double Maturation

Armorik Double Maturation

Official bottling
Single malt - Brittany
Dark gold
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Sea salt, red grapes, stewed apples, vanilla, black tea, hints of salt caramel. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens slightly, slippery. 
Tasting:  Bitter salty. Stewed apples, sea salt, peat, black tea, vanilla, hints of burning driftwood. 
Finish: Short. Black tea, salt caramel, sea salt, hints of iron filings. 

Comments: 

Matured in sherry casks and fresh oak. Briney and salty, heaped with peat, some hints of smoke, but with a sweet edge. Appley and fresh, slightly tannic. This is what I always imagined Brittany tastes like.

Verdict:

I like this.

Armorik Classic Single Malt

Armorik Classic Single Malt

Official bottling
Single malt - Brittany
Bronze
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, pears, orange peel, overripe peaches, leather, hints of mint. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, slippery, slightly oily . 
Tasting:  Bitter sour. Orange peel, cream, overripe peaches, lemon zest, cucumber skin, hints of ginseng. 
Finish: Long. Leather, ginseng, lemon zest, cucumber skin. 

Comments: 

Fruity, slightly peaty, on the nose, but that is washed away on the tongue by a wall of herbal bitterness. Very odd note - almost like what you get when you bite into a cucumber, intense bitterness but only for a moment. Then more gentle, herbal bitterness that reminds me of ginseng.

Verdict:

I like this.