Jean Donnay, of Glann ar Mor, a small family run French whisky distillery in Breton, has recently released two new botllings:

Glann ar Mor “1an Gwech 11” (“First bottling 2011”): single cask from a first fill Bourbon barrel, bottled @ 46%ABV (336 bottles).

Kornog “Sant Ivy 2011” (“Saint Yves 2011”): single cask at “natural strength” from a first fill Bourbon barrel @ 57.8%ABV (249 bottles).

barley and the Kornog line, which

is made from imported, peated, Scottish barley.

Both of these bottlings are sold out, but Jean has held back a few bottles of the Sant Ivy 2011,which can be purchased only in person at their visitor center.

A second single cask bottling, from a first fill Bourbon barrel of the Glann ar Mor, is just now being released in France. The new

Glann ar Mor 2eil Gwech 11, (“Second 2011 bottling”), is available at www.tregorwhisky.com and at the

Glann ar Mor visitor’s center (http://bit.ly/9ZKXm3) Sorry, Glann ar Mor can’t sell directly to US whisky lovers.  However, http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/ does ship to the US. Other bottlings are available at www.royalmilewhiskies.com

The single cask bottling of Kornog, honors Saint Yves, whose life is celebrated each May 19th since his canonization in 1347. He was born near Tregor, Brittany (where the distillery is located) and by his charity, gained the title of “advocate and patron of the poor”.

Here are some notes on the St. Yves by Serge Valentin of the Malt Maniacs at his website, Whiskyfun.com: http://www.whiskyfun.com/archivemay11-2.html

He gives it 88 points and seems rather to like it, “excellent, on par with malts starting with L or A and seven or eight years older.”

The Glann ar Mor and the Kornog are just over three years old.

I tasted these bottlings with fellow BUM, Bill Meyers.

Glann ar Mor “1an Gwech 11” (“First bottling 2011”)

On the nose: Floral, slightly oaky, malty, candy corn

On the palate: Vanilla, oily, salty, cinnamon with a long spicy finish.

85-90

Kornog “Sant Ivy 2011” (“Saint Yves 2011”)

On the nose: Smoky, sweet, salty

On the palate: smoky, malty, sweet vanilla, toasted marshmallow, oily, bitter orange.

With a drop of water: Spiciness and bitter orange up front, super creamy, plum fruitiness develops

85-90

I wonder what a few additional years would bring to these drams, which are already very well made. Jean Donnay of Glann ar Mor is a traditionalist and his whiskies are produced in stills heated with open flames and the spirit is condensed in

old-fashioned worm tubs, both of which tend to give a heartier spirit.

Glann ar Mor ( which means “by the sea”) is a good whisky that keeps getting better.

Previous BUMS posts on Glann ar Mor can be found here, http://bit.ly/mUr4bn

http://bit.ly/jFbFUk