Category: French Whisky

Alfred Giraud Is Making Rare and Remarkable French Whisky

Two expressions, Intrigue and Voyage, scored 92 points when tasted for our Summer 2022 issue.

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In the frenetic world of French whiskies, Alfred Giraud is quietly pushing the boundaries. The Giraud family has been making and aging cognac for generations, and is now putting that expertise into premium French whisky. For Voyage, cellar master Gaetan Mariolle began to experiment with French robinia casks, a wood that has occasionally been used for wine, but not for spirits. He had to be extremely careful to avoid the tannins becoming too intense, but once he was satisfied, the stock was blended with sweeter sauternes cask-matured single malt. Next, they undertook their first finishing experiment, mellowing the blend in XO cognac casks of limousin oak for 6 months. Suffice to say, Voyage is scarce, with only four or five barrels a year. Rarer still is Intrigue, a new triple malt aged in their signature very old cognac casks, with a small influence of new American oak and some new French oak from the family’s forestry operations in limousin. The blend was then divided into a sauvignon blanc cask and an undisclosed “magic” cask, which previously contained a 65 year old product so unique that they decided to keep it a secret to prevent imitation. Subsequently, this is a unique and unrepeatable whisky, sold exclusively through the Alfred Giraud U.S. website.

Alfred Giraud Intrigue and Voyage Reviewed

Alfred Giraud Intrigue
92 points, 51.7%, $463
Small batch experimental whisky with an invigorating nose of apple, Seckel pear, vanilla, primrose, lemon zest, spring blos- soms, and fresh linen. It’s a sweet and vinous affair, with lemon curd, lime marmalade, vanilla sugar, grapefruit, pear, cognac notes, and black pepper, with creamed coconut rounding out a sweet, mouth-saturating finish of lemon and vanilla that persists for an eternity. (150 bottles for the U.S.)—Jonny McCormick

Alfred Giraud Voyage
92 points, 48%, $185
An exploratory blend of two single malts matured in sauternes and French robinia casks and finished in cognac casks. Delight- ful, fresh, and lilting with orchard fruits, floral notes, gooseberry fool, chantilly cream, sliced grape, crisp barley, and fresh apple peel, balanced with light oak and a sprinkle of spice. Flavors of black currant, honey, russet apple, and pepper before it succumbs to the cognac’s influence. Preferred this one with water. (405 bottles for the U.S.)—Jonny McCormick

The post Alfred Giraud Is Making Rare and Remarkable French Whisky appeared first on Whisky Advocate.

Alfred Giraud Harmonie French Whisky Review

By Richard Thomas Rating: B If one reads these pages about world whiskey or the business of whiskey at all, then the fact that France is the world’s second largest market for our thematic drink should be well-driven into your noggin by now. Because French whisky consumption is the highest in the world, at over …

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

Alfred Giraud Harmonie Triple Malt
(Credit: Alfred Giraud)

If one reads these pages about world whiskey or the business of whiskey at all, then the fact that France is the world’s second largest market for our thematic drink should be well-driven into your noggin by now. Because French whisky consumption is the highest in the world, at over 2 liters per capita annually, they are also the second most lucrative market. Knowing those facts, the question becomes not why is France producing whisky, but why isn’t French whisky better known?

To that, I will add a minor bit of trivia: many experts believe the idea of aging American whiskey in new oak barrels was borrowed from the French. At the time Americans were inventing bourbon and rye–the late 18th and early 19th Centuries–the French were not making whisky, but they were making cognac. And what is cognac, but grape brandy aged in new French oak? I bring that up not only to underscore that old school Franco-American connection, but also because the Giraud family are distinguished cognac-makers.

That brings me around to this particular French whisky, Alfred Giraud Harmonie Malt. First, note the absence of the designation “single malt.” This is a vatted triple malt (for another example of a triple malt, see Monkey Shoulder), made with whiskies from three French distilleries. That whisky was aged in new French oak and new American oak casks, but it is not known if that trio of cask types correspond to the trio of French distilleries, or represent a more complicated mix (i.e. distillery #1 provided whisky in new French and American oak, etc.). One whisky source is lightly peated, and the other two unpeated. The whisky is finished in ex-cognac casks after marriage, and bottled at 46.1% ABV. A mere seven casks-worth are released annually, but keep in mind a cognac cask is 400 liters, or almost double the size of a bourbon barrel.

The Whisky
The nose here builds on a sweet platform of malty honey with a touch of the kind of saline, cut and dried grass smell one gets from work going on at the edge of sea marshes. This note is so light as to not even merit being called a dusting of salt, because the vegetal and saline aspects combined are a mere touch. The flavor follows very much in suit behind this line, with a sprinkle of cinnamon added for good measure. The finish winds down grassy and a little spicy.

For a whisky that builds its identity around having some peated whisky in the mix, I found it quite un-smoky. Still, that one whisky was supposed to be lightly peated, and then blended with more unpeated stuff, so this isn’t all that surprising. Instead, the peat played up the vegetal side of things, and brought the tiniest bit of salt into the profile as well. Overall, I would say Harmonie is an enjoyable, but unremarkable malt, except for that understated peat influence that comes out in a way that most would no expect, and that gives the whisky its distinctive character.

The Price
This French malt comes in at $190 per bottle.