Kornog 2006
Cask Type: Barrel
Bottled: 2022
Age: 16
Region: France
No. of bottles: 152
ABV: 50.9%
Release: Winter Release 2022
Rob Whitehead
“Whilst Berry Bros. & Rudd has bottled French brandies for centuries, our first ever gallic whisky is a beautiful introduction to French single malt. Extraordinarily complex, especially with a little time in the glass (I’d give it 30mins+ if you can possible stand the waiting..!) This truly noteworthy whisky is replete with smoke, savoury herbs, custard and toffee, yet amongst those dominant flavours, I found stone fruit and even some dried mango. Unabashed Breton brilliance!”
Tasting Notes
This cask came to Berry Bros & Rudd from the writer Martine Nouet, a long-time friend of the company. It was filled for Martine by her friend Jean Donnay of Glann ar Mor distillery in 2006. This is the oldest cask bottled from the distillery to date, and the following notes are written by Martine herself. “The nose displays an enticing fruity basket of plums and caramelised pears delicately entangled in smoke. Vanilla lusciously swirls up with a briny whiff. The palate is oily, almost velvety and brings out flavours of banoffee pie and intense fruit with a lingering finish on ginger, liquorice with vetiver. Elegant and complex, a true Celt character from Brittany.”
Distillery
Glann ar Mor distillery was built in 1999 by Jean Donnay. Based in Brittany, the name means “by the sea”. The distillery produces a more traditional whisky than most contemporary Scotch distilleries, using worm tub condensers and direct fire stills.
Jonny says:“This is perhaps the first ‘world whisky’ that I got excited about when I first tried their whisky over a decade ago. Jean Donnay is a real force of nature and has gone above and beyond to create an idiosyncratic, characterful whisky.”