Why did France wait so long to make whiskies?

Looking into history books and references, it appears that whisky was already made in France and consumed at the court of the Duke Stanislas of Lorraine in 1750. But in 1789, a widespread famine in France forced the farmers to use grain exclusively for making food and the whisky production vanished.

At the same time, France had been perfecting the art of making great brandies since the 13th century and ­­­­­­benefited from an unsurpassed world reputation for quality. French people liked their refined and noble brandies and did not care for rustic and bold whiskies. 

By the time France started to think about making whisky again, Scotland had already become the reputable whisky producing country that it is today.

In the 1950s, some major world drink groups with large interests in Scottish whisky-producing entities flooded the French market with famous labels. Whisky drinking became a popular trend in France, especially as it was glorified by the Hollywood movie business.

It should be noted that a few of these big drink groups were French, such as Pernod Ricard and La Martiniquaise, and they had ownership and/or distribution interests in a few of these famous labels. So the French remained somewhat complacent about creating their own whiskies, because the category seemed to be so saturated with big brands that made decent products.

The bottom line is that we now have plenty of great whiskies made in France and Heavenly Spirits is fortunate to represent two brands that could easily be considered the country’s finest: Armorik, who took a leap of faith back in 1983 and produced the first ever modern French whisky, and BASTILLE, born of a dream to create an outstanding whisky with a distinct French identity.

With this in mind, let us be happy and rejoice, as we watch the French whisky industry continue to get better and better. Santé!!