Ah, France, a country renowned for class, culture, decadence, and sophistication. I personally love France, but sadly, I don’t get to visit anywhere near enough. When I think of France, and I’m sure I’m not alone here, there are plenty of things that spring to mind, but whisky isn’t one of them. 

Think of France, and you think of extravagant pastries, chocolatiers, Michelin starred restaurants, and drinks such as champagne, wine, brandy, and cognac. It turns out, however, that French whisky is not only a thing, but it turns out to be pretty darned special as well. 

French whisky started to become popular in the 1980s and 90s. It wasn’t until after the turn of the new millennium, though, that French whisky really took off. The French clearly have an eye for class, which is why their whisky is generally stylised after Scotch whisky. In true French fashion, they took heavy inspiration from Scotch whisky, including the distilleries and distilling practices, and put a stylish French twist on it, producing some exceptional single and blended malts. LAFERTÉ is a prime example of this. 

Whisky the French Way

Up until the 2000s, whisky wasn’t particularly popular in France. Don’t get me wrong, it was still established and fairly popular, it’s just that other alcoholic beverages such as Pastis, were more common. 

As the years ticked by, more and more people in France began falling in love with this amazing spirit. By 2010, whisky sales had actually overtaken pastis. Pastis, is a French spirit with an aniseed/liquorice flavour. It reminds me of sambuca and ouzo and was the best-selling spirit in the country. The fact that whisky sales overtook those of Pastis, shows just how far whisky has come, especially now there are around 155 distilleries and more than 250 whisky brands in France. 

When you have drams such as Laferté whisky, it’s really not that hard to see why. Laferté is a blended malt whisky from Master Blender Adrian Douady. One look at it tells you straight away that you’re looking at something special, and something French. 

The bottle design in particular is a real eye-catcher. With its twists, turns, and grooves, it has a very retro, art deco feel to it. You can picture this bottle on the most lavish of bars. It just looks like the type of dram that, were he fed up with his usual Vodka Martinis (shaken, but not stirred, of course) James Bond himself would happily enjoy before taking down a room full of bad guys and breaking out a cringey one-liner. 

Laferté Blended Malt Whisky

Laferté is a newly established French blending house who have been making waves in the whisky biz as of late. This first creation from Master Blender Adrian Douady is testament to just how far whisky production in France has come over the last decade.

The whisky, which is made from 100% malted barley, is aged in a combination of ex-bourbon, ex-rum, and ex-cognac casks. It’s a dram that can be enjoyed neat, over ice, with water, or in cocktails. It’s complex, sophisticated, and ridiculously moreish.

At 41% ABV, and with a wonderful pale golden colour, the retro, art deco style bottle design really highlights the clarity and hue of the whisky. The bottle itself, would look equally at home in an art gallery than on a bar shelf. 

On the nose, the whisky smells just as special as it looks in that epic bottle (can you tell I love the design?) There are strong aromas of toasted coconut and vanilla, tied together with a good punch of oak. There are also strong floral notes here, with lavender and heather really shining through. Those with more sensitive noses may even pick up a suggestion of orchard fruits. 

On the palate there’s a distinctly fruity kick. Plums, pears, apples, summer berries, and dried apricots take centre stage here. Next comes the toffee and honey influences from the bourbon casks. There are also strong citrus notes here, with lemons, limes, and oranges all present. Sticky quince jam with toasted oak round off the flavour adventure off quite nicely. 

The finish is spicy, medium, and fairly dry. Oak, peppery notes, a touch of grape, and winter baking spices linger in the palate long after your first gulp. 

Exquisite! This is whisky the French way. 

If you’d like to learn more about your favourite whiskies, or even  treat yourself or a loved one to a wee dram or two at the same time, head on over to GreatDrams.com and take a look at what we have to offer. 

With an impressive selection of limited-edition, rare, and award-winning whisky, as well as heaps of whisky info on our blog, it’s the perfect spot for any whisky lovers out there.