Discover the Warenghem distillery
Discover the Warenghem distillery
French whisky
Located in Lannion, on Brittany’s Pink Granite Coast, Warenghem is a pioneer of French whisky history. The company was founded in 1900, and in 1990 undertook a challenge which seemed at the time to be pure folly: the creation of a French single malt.
Boasting a long history of distillation expertise, Warenghem continues to this day to produce atypical and ancestral spirits. Formerly located in the centre of Lannion, the distillery now sits southeast of the town on the Rest Avel spring site.
The tasting room stands out from the functional architecture of the other buildings (which were renovated in 2019), and overlooks the Léguer valley: this landscape of prairies, hedgerows, and oak forests, constantly watered by the legendary rains of Brittany, is the ideal environment to discover Warenghem’s spirits.
◊ Dating back to the early 20th century, Warenghem’s catalogue of specialities is on display at the distillery’s entrance. It traces the history of Warenghem’s bottlings, with names as quaint as they are delightful: Liqueur du Couvent, Guignolet Breton, Liqueur Hygiénique, Mandarine Régence…
◊ Within the stillhouse, the pot stills—installed in 1994—have experienced a shift from one tradition to another. Designed and built by cognac-still specialists Prulho, Warenghem had requested that they be based on Glenlivet and Balvenie’s stills. Their lyne arms, which had previously been straightened, were later reworked into their original shapes on the advice of Dr Jim Swan—a technical detail which produces a more flavourful distillate.
◊ Lefloch cooperage, founded by Warenghem in 2022, is located a few minutes away. Built inside Lannion’s old slaughterhouses, the workshop uses ancestral manufacturing techniques: wood-firing, century-old machines, hand-shaping… here, everything is done the old fashioned way, with elbow grease. From 50L quarter casks to large 600L sizes, Lefloch’s handmade casks now populate Warenghem’s cellars.
◊ A visit to Warenghem is not just for tasting whisky: offerings include liqueurs such as Triple Sec Éclair and Menthe Éclair, whose original 1920s advertisements still paper the shop’s walls. And do not pass up Élixir d’Armorique—created 125 years ago by the distillery’s founder—or the liqueur made from Plougastel strawberries.
◊ Warenghem is also preparing to open a brewery and pub, adjoining the cooperage, where its entire range of products will be available to sample: beer, whiskies, chouchen... This establishment will also house small stills for experimental creations.
◊ From Warenghem distillery, head to the Sentier des Douaniers—the famous GR34 hiking trail that winds along 2000km of Brittany’s coastline—and explore the Pink Granite Coast, one of its most beautiful stretches. Inspired by the maritime landscape, the distillery has paid homage to the beauty of the Triagoz archipelago (off the coast of Trébeurden) by naming one of its Armorik bottlings Triagoz.
◊ The Monts d’Arrée mountain range, home to the Yeun Elez marshes, is less than an hour’s drive away. A source of peat until the 1930s, the site gave its name to Warenghem’s peated single malt. These former peat bogs, traversed by another hiking trail, are the subject of a local legend: it was once said that the gates of hell could be opened there by drowning a black dog in the marsh. This legend is depicted on Yeun Elez’ bottle sleeve.
Warenghem
Warenghem
ARMORIK
ARMORIK 5 ans 2020 Yeun Elez ex-Sherry Hogshead Itinéraires
59.6%single malt whisky70cLfrance/brittany
Ref: 69420
Since 2009, David Roussier, Gilles Leizour's son-in-law, has taken over the reins of the Warenghem distillery. On the advice of Dr. Jim Swan, he immediately modified the stills and abandoned the systematic use of peat. In September 2020, he launched a peated variation of the Armorik single malt: the Yeun Elez cuvée, na...See more110.00 €
ARMORIK
ARMORIK 11 ans 2013 Tourbé ex-Bourbon Itinéraires
60.2%single malt whisky70cLfrance/brittany
Ref: 69419
In 1983, Gilles Leizour took over the Warenghem distillery and launched production of a barley and wheat whisky, marketed in 1987 under the name WB. In 1993, he invested in new equipment to produce a single malt, named Armorik, which was first bottled in 1998. Contrasting with the intensely peaty Yeun Elez from the sam...See more135.00 €
