Kornog 2006 Single Cask Berry Bros. & Rudd

 

 

 

50,9°

Distillery : Celtic Whisky Distillerie - France

Bourbon Barrel

Independent Bottling 

By Berry Bros. & Rudd

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2022

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 50 ppm 

The prestigious and venerable Berry Bros. & Rudd deigns to take an interest in a vulgar French wihsky, from a recent distillery founded in 1999 and which has only been producing peated juice since 2009 under the name of Kornog. For the creator of the distillery, Jean Donnay, it is the consecration. Perhaps being acquired by Maison Villevert in 2020 has something to do with this great news for French whisky. This company with a capital of 75 million euros certainly has a perfectly oiled marketing department. Whatever, it is deserved, and for the occasion the distillery provided its oldest cask to date, 16 years old, matured in a single Bourbon barrel, which gave only 152 copies. The age of the product is not mentioned on the bottle, but it is indicated 16 yo on several respectable sales sites.

 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

A soft peat but nonetheless quite present, some grassy hints, well integrated iodine, I would swear to be on Islay. But I'm not, and it's really well done, because it's quite fruity by the way, very balanced. But it's not a monster of complexity either. On the palate, beautiful vanilla sweetness, a little bit sweetness, soft spices, towards a relatively robust but not quite long finish. Burnt wood, liquorice, undergrowth, chestnut leaves. It's quite smooth despite the peat, it goes down very well, drizzle of vanilla, pineapple and citrus, but without bitterness, discreet spices, cloves, ginger, long and fairly robust finish, damp earth, martime notes, lemony touches. Discreet smoke. Almonds, cashews.

 

In Short, 

It is undoubtedly among the best in France under the name of Whisky. And that's not bad at all, actually. It competes with some very good Islay. The official peat level is 50 ppm, but this was at the time of distillation, and after 16 years it has become more subtle, the equivalent of around 30 ppm. So it's well balanced, because the fruits are there. I think of a good Bowmore, a less peated Bunnahabhain, or a Kilkerran. These are compliments for me because these are distilleries that I particularly like. On the other hand, with exceptional bottling, exceptional price, and there I must say that it is too expensive for what it is, a bit like everything that is good in French whisky. I know that the crafting prices are not the same in France and in Scotland, but the quality-price ratio is not there, it is regrettable.

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine - Annihilation