But you know me, I find it hard to talk about a distillery without giving you a bit of a history!    

Just two words: 160 years!

It was indeed in 1864 that the Distillerie Auguste Peureux was founded by Auguste (logic) in Fougerolles-Saint-Valbert, in Haute-Saône. At the time, it produced eaux-de-vie, including the famous Fougerolles kirsch. Later, it also distinguished itself by producing absinthe. Just imagine, the distillery was already present under the Eiffel Tower for the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900. 

Auguste PEUREUX

Despite the ban on absinthe in 1915 (due to the hallucinogenic and perverse reputation of the ‘green fairy’ but above all under pressure from the wine lobby), the Auguste Peureux distillery managed to convert to producing various cherry-based products, such as kirsch and guignolet.

In 1927, it changed its name to ‘Les Fils d'Auguste Peureux’ when Auguste's sons, André and Edgar, took over the business.

But how can you talk about Fougerolles without talking about Kirsh! The town is inextricably linked with this cherry brandy. Cherry distillation dates back to the 17th century. At that time, the region was already renowned for its cherry orchards. Cherry distilling expanded significantly in the 18th century, becoming a major activity for the commune. In 2010, Fougerolles kirsch was awarded the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) label.

So where there's Kirch country, there's distilleries. And that's why we're now talking about the Grandes Distilleries (even if the name is more recent), because from a single establishment in 1864, we moved on to a group of distilleries in Fougerolles at the end of the 19th century:

- 1893: Auguste Peureux acquires the buildings of the former Emile Vial distillery.

- 1920s: Several strategic acquisitions of cellars and warehouses to expand storage and distribution capacity;

- 2000: acquisition of the Raspiller distillery;

- 2015: Acquisition of the Lemercier distillery;

- 2016: acquisition of the Emile Coulin distillery.

The town of Fougerolles is now linked to DISTILLERIES PEUREUX.

Since the arrival of BERNARD BAUD in 2002, we have even been talking about the GRANDES DISTILLERIES PEUREUX MASSENEZ group. In fact, production has expanded outside Fougerolles with the merger with the Alsatian distillery MASSENEZ in 2010.

Grandes Distilleries Peureux Massenez also offers a wide range of products, including :

. Fruit Eaux-de-Vie (kirsch, plum, mirabelle, pear, raspberry, pear ...) ;

- Creams and Liqueurs ;

- Absinthe ;

- Griottines®, Morello cherries macerated in liqueur and kirsch;

- Golden Eight®, a Williams Pear liqueur made from Williams Pear brandy aged for at least 8 years.

You're going to say to me, we haven't yet uttered the word Whisky?

We're getting there. With 160 years' experience in distilling fruit and plants, why not turn to grain alcohol?

That's why, since 2024, Bernard BAUD has been producing whisky at the Grandes Distilleries Peureux (it can now even offer its own malt).

And that's where we find the link with Bruno Mangin (you know the Zegut uncle of whisky) that I mentioned at the beginning of these lines.

Although new in appearance, the GDP range was born after 20 years of collaboration with the Distillerie Franc Comtoise La Rouget de Lisle.

The stated aim of GDP whiskies is to put fruit into whisky. Not directly, of course, because we're not talking about whisky here, but through ageing in casks of fruit brandies and liqueurs.

The range of Kirsh, eau de vie, absinthe and liqueurs has now been extended to include a range of whiskies:

- GDP SINGLE MALT 8 years, born at Rouget de l'Isle and aged in Vin Jaune and Savagnin casks (dear to Bruno Mangin), then aged for several months in the Grandes Distillerie Peureux cellar, surrounded by eau de vie and liqueur casks;

- GDP SINGLE MALT 12 YEARS and GDP SINGLE CASK 17 YEARS, to which I'll return below.

At the same time, the range has been extended to include two whiskies distilled in Fougerolles (making Distilleries Peureux-Massenez one of the 150 French whisky distilleries):

- GDP PURE MALT 3 YEARS is produced mainly from a Fougerolles distillate (95%) and marginally from a Vosges distillate. It is aged for 3 years in the Grandes Distilleries Peureux cellar, surrounded by brandy and liqueur casks;

- BELLES FILLES GDP is a 100% PEUREUX production made from barley grown in the Franche-Comté region and aged in American white oak bourbon casks, again surrounded by brandy casks.

A great adventure that I'd like you to discover today with a 12-year-old and a 17-year-old.

For this first collaboration between the fruity distillates of the ROUGET DE LISLE distillery and the even fruitier know-how of the Grandes distilleries Peureux. 

The Fougerolles team took a Jura distillate aged for just over 10 years in Vin Jaune and Vin de Paille casks and aged it for just under 3 years in eau de vie casks in the Grandes Distilleries Peureux cellars.

This ageing gives the distillate a beautiful copper colour.

The first aromas on the nose are woody and very slightly sweet. The impact of the cask will be twofold here, with a dried fruit woodiness from the straw wine cask and a slight hint of spice that develops over time.

In the second pass, the woody notes are lighter and a little more marked by the spicy notes, but over time we can detect a background of macerated cherries (perhaps the finish here, which comes out quite surprisingly since the liquid is not in contact with the eau-de-vie casks) and a hint of hazelnut.

The third passage brings out more medicinal and menthol notes.

On the palate, it is mellow on entry but powerful. The palate is mellow on entry, but powerful, and soon moves on to dried fruit with hints of apricot, then spices with peppery notes that stick to the tongue, and finally woody and even liquorice notes.

The finish is on encaustic and notes closer to honey and almond.

The empty glass retains traces of barley but also, and above all, notes of dried apricots.

The work carried out on this single cask differs from the usual ageing process used by the Peureux distilleries. Indeed, the choice has been made here to magnify the distillate, rather than give it a fruity double life.

While the source of the original distillate is the same, the emphasis has been placed on ageing.   

16 years in a Burgundy cask of Vin Jaune from Château Chalon to optimise the exchange between the wine-laden staves and the whisky (as evidenced by its deep copper colour).

The nose of this whisky is incredibly marked by notes of ripe, sun-drenched apricots. There are also hints of mahogany and a background of candied lemon notes.

On the second pass, the citrus notes are more pronounced and less candied. It becomes fresher, but without acidity, with citrus fruits such as tangerine and kumquat still very ripe. 

On the third pass, warm notes of encaustic emerge and wood up the nose, but it remains very subtle with notes of dried apricots.

The sweet, mellow notes are still very present on the palate. Many of the discoveries made on the nose can be found here. The mellowness of the fruit on the entry, the velvetiness of the dried apricot on the tongue, the rise of the woody and slightly spicy notes of mahogany cinnamon, and even the lemony notes that give it a hint of acidity. Over time, the woody notes become more pronounced and there are also hints of menthol, while the texture becomes downright honeyed.

The finish leaves a certain warmth in the mouth, with velvety notes on the tongue and mentholated notes in the throat.

The empty glass retains spicy, lemony and sweet vinous notes, as if it had housed the wine more than the whisky.

What great teamwork between the Grandes Distilleries Peureux and the ‘late’ Rouget de Lisle distillery (two distilleries you can find on yours truly's map - here), which confirms that France is now capable of offering fine age accounts.

We can't wait to discover the 100% Fougerolles whisky... but that's for another adventure! 

In the meantime, as well as whiskies (and since I'm also talking about rums), in 2024 the Grandes Distilleries Peureux joined forces with Saint James from Martinique for an exceptional collaboration that combines the tradition of macerated cherries with the modernity of agricultural rum.

I recommend that you indulge in a spoonful of these Griottines® with Saint James® rum, kirsch and rum... a real treat.