Brenne Estate Cask Whisky, 70cl - 40% ABV French Single Malt Scotch Whisky - Organic Whisky Aged in Cognac Casks

Product Information

It’s fruit forward, floral, creamy. And for anyone who is excited to try something new or maybe is looking for a gateway into single malts or just wants something that excites your pallet and is different from anything you might have at home, Brenne is a very easy fit right there.

Brenne Ten Year and Brenne Estate are both single malt whiskeys. The key difference lies in their aging process and abv. Brenne Ten Year matures for a decade, resulting in a more complex and refined flavor profile. The Estate Cask variety ages between six and eight years. The abv of the Brenne Ten is 48 percent abv, higher than the Estate Cask bottle. The liquid is a pale amber color in the glass, almost more like you just poured yourself a glass of gold. The smell is consistent with that lighter coloring — what I get is mainly a lot of fruit. I think apple is the primary fruit in there, with some lemon added for good measure and perhaps a touch of orange. From smell alone, it honestly reminds me, just a bit, like a green Jolly Rancher. Brenne Ten Year Single Malt showcases a rich, golden amber hue that's both inviting and alluring. The liquid gracefully clings to the sides of the glass, showcasing its viscosity and hinting at its smooth, velvety texture. The overall presentation is a treat for the eyes, setting the stage for the sensory journey that awaits. Nose The whiskey just gets lost in the mix. There’s a bit of the apple note coming through, but otherwise the drink is just far too sweet. I then connected with a magazine guy from France – just through all of our passion about Japanese whisky – and he put me in touch with a distiller. I went over to Cognac and met my now distiller and he was making a single malt whisky using all local ingredients, all made organically. He had no organization to his barrels, but he was not using any bourbon barrels. He was only using French oak.Well-read and practiced in the art of distillation, a quarter French, and one hundred percent whisky loving, Patel is clearly committed to her product, which makes a sip of Brenne feel very genuine, indeed. It’s delicious, that’s for sure. Light, crisp, and fruity. Easily sippable by itself, but I would caution that the lighter flavors might get lost among some of the common whiskey-associated activities (such as cigar smoking). On Ice TWW: When we think about major categories of whisk(e)y around the world, French made whisky is a very obscure one, even though France has such a high consumption of whisk(e)y. Talk a little bit about why you chose that region? Brenne’s core expression, Brenne Single Malt, doesn’t carry an age statement, although the brand reports an average age of seven years. I tried Brenne Single Malt a few months ago, and didn’t care for it at all. Cloying and ester-driven, it reminded me of nothing so much as a Hefeweizen made by an inexperienced homebrewer. I was interested to see if three additional years of aging would remedy the overwhelming banana-bubblegum -Dole’s Fruit Cup characteristics that I found so objectionable. What sets Breene apart from many other whiskies are the ingredients. Everything is locally sourced, 100 percent organic and non-GMO. There are two types of heirloom barley used and grown in Cognac, France. The yeast strain is proprietary and has been in the distiller’s family for generations. The water to cut the proof is from the nearby Charente River. The whiskey is twice-distilled in an alembic Charente still at a family farm-distillery in the heart of Cognac region.

Brenne French Single Malt Whisky is a wonderful addition to the ever expanding whisky region in France. The first expression of Brenne debuted in 2012 in New York City – with Parc distributing it on bicycle to stores and bars – and it sold out in two months. She’s been expanding ever since to hit every major market and select cities in the US. Most interestingly though, Brenne single malt is twice-distilled in an alembic Charente still, an interesting distilling apparatus that’s designed to process fermented grape juice instead a barley mash. French Limousin oak and ex-Cognac casks are then used for maturation. What I love about this French Oak is the vanilla that you get is like that beautiful creme brulee. It’s like that burnt top of the creme brûlée, the crispy part that everyone wants. So that was really compelling. And I thought in people’s experience, it’s not that far of a flavor note jump from the vanilla someone might experience in a really good bourbon.The production process involves mashing the barley, fermenting the mash, distilling the spirit in pot stills, and aging it in oak casks. This meticulous process results in a flavorful whiskey enjoyed by whiskey enthusiasts worldwide. Finishing Brenne Whiskeys To my surprise, the answer was yes. Where Brenne Estate Whisky is inelegant and insipid, Brenne 10 is leaner and more focused, exactly what this whisky needs. This bottling consists of a blend of four casks “hand-selected for their distinctive complexity and balance by the brand’s founder, Allison Patel.” Quantities for this release are thus limited at 290 cases for 2015, but Brenne hopes to make Brenne 10 an annual tradition. Tasting Notes: After retiring her pointe shoes at age 23, Allison indulged in food and drink previously restricted by her ballet lifestyle. In the years that followed, she began to build an import/export portfolio of craft spirits. Simultaneously, she set out to create a new whisky that reflected the region in which it was crafted, identifying France as the right place to build her brand. AP: Did you find that you had to work ten times harder, even within the layers of the corporations in which you’ve worked?

I’ve gone on too long. Everything you think I’m going to say about it is true. It is absolutely vile, undrinkable. I really don’t know what to do with it. I just had my first two fingers’ worth, and my last. I have never in my life poured a bottle down the drain, but… I guess I can save it for emergencies, but I have two bottles of JW Blue under the kitchen sink for that. (There were three, but then Covid happened. It seemed appropriate to open one. I actually liked it, though I didn’t expect to.) So not Bourbon barrels, not using peat from Scotland, not using one of the four main strains of yeast for fermentation, not using one of the main grain varietals of barley for the whiskey. And when I realized no one was really doing it this way, I thought I should do it. TF: Yes! People think that’s enough. Right? If I say, “Well look at all the women now,” they think they’ve done all the work and [the progress] stops. But what happens when we want to start creating spaces that are more accessible? I want to be able to get people involved that have physical disabilities, mental disabilities … true inclusivity is so much broader than we have ever imagined. This industry has not imagined how inclusive we can be.TWW: You spoke earlier to the impact of the barrel as being one of the key factors of a particular product. Talk about the flavor profile of your whiskies influenced by these types of barrels. Fruit-forward and elegant, Brenne’s proud femininity is a direct reflection of Patel’s style of entrepreneurship. First off nothing can be a “Scotch just made in another country” because Scotch a term that only applies to whisky made, aged and bottled in Scotland. Single malts, grain whisky, blends, vats, bastard malts and any other variation or type of whisky that might come from Scotland are all Scotch. You can’t make a Scotch in a different country. I chose France for a variety of reasons, but mostly because I think they were really the first on the Japanese whisky trend. Terroir is a French word and originally a French concept. And I just really believed that with their history of Calvados, Armagnac and Cognac, that they really were set up to make a beautiful, beautiful whisky. And I think I was correct.

When reviewing whiskey, consider several key factors. The appearance looks at the color and clarity of the whiskey. The nose evaluates the aroma, identifying any notes of fruits, spices, or other scents. The taste examines the flavor profile, including the balance of sweetness and bitterness. The mouthfeel considers the texture and viscosity of the whiskey on the palate. The finish refers to the lingering taste and sensations after swallowing. Brenne Estate Cask Single Malt Tons of vanilla, banana candy, light brown sugar, clove, and fruitcake. If you're into that sort of thing you will love it, but if you only like dry spicy spirits I have to tell you it probably isn't for you. I knew right away. French Single-malt Whisky. It was a holiday gift from someone in the office. I’m thinking, wtf? Not “Oh, that sounds interesting.” It did not. I knew.Nicola Riske: I just knew that I had to work 10x harder, and that anything I said when presenting to anyone would be discounted if one man entered the room and said something different.