There isn't a country in the world that loves whisky more than France. For years France has been the biggest consumer of Scotch whisky and it is said that in France more whisky is enjoyed in a month than Cognac in a year.
However, not content with just enjoying Scotch whisky there are now several distilleries in France each with their own unique processes and style.
Brittany, with its Celtic connections to Ireland and Scotland, is where the first French whiskies were produced. The Warenghem distillery near Lannion first embarked on creating a blended whisky in 1983 and made the first single malt from Brittany in 1998. The distillery uses local ingredients but has Scottish copper pot-stills in place for the production of their whisky.
The French appetite for whisky hasn't abated and with an extremely interested home based market to draw on we expect to see more French distilleries starting over the next few years.