#4 Meeting: David Roussier

Meeting with David Roussier, general manager of the Armorik distillery (or Warenghem distillery, named after its founder). The current leader in French whisky has collaborated with the House of Benjamin Kuentz to create its third whisky Le Guip.

Maison Benjamin Kuentz: To begin with, a few words about the Armorik distillery that you manage?

David Roussier: It’s a family distillery that is over a hundred years old. It was originally active in fruit and plant liqueurs. We started making whiskies at the distillery in the 1980s to diversify a little. We had already opened our distillery to the chouchen of which we still produce the most sold brand in France today. Then, naturally, whisky became one of our other diversification choices, because after all, France is an important market for this spirit. And which region more than Brittany is legitimate to work this spirit which is the preserve of our Celtic cousins? We started with a blend as was the trend at the time and then launched a Single Malt in 1998, Armorik, which is also the other name of our distillery.

Maison Benjamin Kuentz: Can you tell us about your encounter with the Maison Benjamin Kuentz?

David Roussier: Benjamin Kuentz came to talk to me about his French whisky project. Obviously, there is a generational closeness between us but more than that. We have the same vision of the profession and the business. And then Benjamin’s attachment to Brittany and the desires he has for this region obviously pleased me. We were all sensitive to his desire to make a whisky with sincerity, I mean he shows a real interest in the product, and then he has this will to innovate which is very invigorating.

Maison Benjamin Kuentz: What about the collaboration around Le Guip Whisky?

David Roussier: To tell you the truth, this project was a bit tense given the state of our stocks (we, the distilleries, are dependent on what is in our cellars). But we liked the Maison Benjamin Kuentz project, so we freed up some of our reserves. The selection was difficult because we are used to creating round and fruity whiskies. Benjamin Kuentz wanted a rather dry and robust spirit for Le Guip. It was in fact a whisky from Finistère that he had in mind, that of the moors and more arid lands when we rather produce whiskies from the Côtes d’Armor, with richer evocations of apples, pink granite and sweet fruits. There are really several terroirs in Brittany.

Maison Benjamin Kuentz: What is a Breton whisky in fact?

David Roussier: The original idea is very important to us. The fact that our whiskies are aged in local wooden casks and the influence of the Breton climate in this process clearly mark the temperament of our whiskies. Today, there are 5 or 6 distilleries in Brittany and our work is governed by strict specifications that allow us to truly promote the identity of Breton whisky.

Maison Benjamin Kuentz: And finally, what, in your opinion, characterizes the know-how of the Armorik distillery?

David Roussier: I think that beyond this Breton identity, we are very attached within the Armorik distillery to the intervention of the human being at all stages of the production of our whiskies. And in this I can say that we are going against the grain. Because the trend is clearly towards automation. I believe that this is one of the dimensions that caught the interest of the Maison Benjamin Kuentz.