Brenne Estate Cask

Maker: Unnamed “third generation distiller” who grows barley on her or his farm in Cognac.

Owner: Allison Parc (formerly Patel)

Style: French single malt finished in Cognac barrels.

Age: NAS (marketing materials claim that the average age of a cask is 7 y/o)

ABV: 40%

Michigan state minimum: $60

Appearance: Light caramel.

Nose: Very fruity. Bubblegum, table grapes, leather.

Palate: Medium-bodied and soft. Grape bubblegum, toasted oak, orange marmalade.

Finish: Grape bubblegum again. A little alcohol.

Mixed: I stuck to bourbon or brandy-based cocktails when mixing Brenne. Its fruity, sweet profile seemed to fit better in those drinks than in traditional Scotch or Irish ones. It added a pleasant, fruity aroma to an Old Fashioned, Manhattan, B(renne?) & B, and to my coffee.

Parting words: European whiskies made outside of Scotland and Ireland are a growing segment of the “world whisky” category. France is one of the leaders in this segment with three brands with wide distribution in the US: Bastille (reviewed here), Amorisk (made in Brittany), and Brenne.

I’ve been reluctant to review Brenne for my blog because the way the whisky was promoted when it was first released made me feel a little icky. It all goes back to those heady days of 2012 when whiskey bloggers still read each others’ posts and #WhiskyFabric (note the extremely important absence of an e) was a thing. One of those active bloggers was a woman named Allison Patel who blogged under the name Whiskey Woman. In the early 2010s, she began blogging and connecting with other bloggers as an enthusiast. In 2012 something remarkable occured. She discovered a whisky, and, lo and behold, she already had an import/export company set up to bring it to the US! She would also appreciate it if her fellow bloggers would review it and talk about it! That whisky was Brenne.

There’s nothing illegal about that as far as I know and as Melle Mel would say “you gotta have a con in this land of milk and honey” but the whole thing made me feel crummy. Parc and I were never close, but it gave me that same feeling you get when old friends invite you over for dinner but all they want to do is sell you Amway. It seemed like the connections made to the enthusiast community were for the purpose of promoting her product not for the sake of being a part of the community itself.

Producers and retailers do this all the time but what made the Whisky Woman case different was the appearance of independence. She has stated a few times that Whisky Woman is a labor of love and not intended to promote any of her companies or products but I have never been able to find any explicit statement on the blog of what Parc’s companies are or what brands they handle besides Brenne. In interviews, Parc has mentioned some of the distillers her company has worked with, like Kings County and Balcones. She has posted about both those distilleries but never (that I could find) explicitly disclosed her relationship with them. There are vague statements at the end of a few posts like “I’m lucky to be able to work with such great people as X”. but nothing like “My company exports this brand to Europe.” Whisky Woman is still semi-active. The current About page for it is here.

I asked my followers on Twitter what their views on industry folks posing as bloggers or enthusiasts were and the response was pretty clear.

As for the whisky itself, it’s fine. It has a fresh, fruity flavor that mixes very well and it’s refreshing on the rocks. Parc has talked about how Brenne is meant to reflect the terroir of Cognac. It may be refelected in the distillate, but it’s hard to taste anything other than  the Cognac barrel finish.

The price is the killer. $60 is too high. Bastille 1789 is only $27 in Michigan, and Angel’s Envy, which has a similar, fruity profile, is $10 less (at a slightly higher ABV) in all US markets. Brenne tastes good but it’s not something I’m going to buy again. Brenne is a only  a mild recommendation.

If you don’t care about the price, you should check out Brenne 10, a 10 y/o small batch iteration that goes for around $90.