The white liquid leaving reached 80 degrees

In the heart of the Champagne vineyard, Thierry Guillon distilling since 1999 a single malt that meets more and more fans. He now sells 60,000 bottles and hopes to reach the 300,000 within a few years.

"At the beginning, the idea is any beast," says Thierry Guillon with modesty. An idea not so stupid that even if, in 1999, when he began thirty years in the development of a 100 made in Champagne, IRAP whisky seems completely mad. "Do good whisky, to malt and a high quality water.". I had just on the spot, he explained, even bottles manufactured by the glassworks mechanical Champenoises in Reims. "For malt (germinated barley), the Champagne is in the European forefront of producing regions. The two large cooperatives are groups bellows (dawn) and Champagne-grain (Marne) already provide Scotland with the Japan. Water, Thierry Guillon was fortunate to have several sources on the twenty hectares, "property family for forty years", he holds forest covering a part of the regional natural park of the mountain of Reims. A Louvois, Châlons-en-Champagne and Reims, on the ground of an old forest House, the water, "very fine", is filtered by a layer of clay that retains the white sand and releases mineral salts. Oenologist of training, technical and commercial of une large German distillery during several years, Thierry Guillon Director lacked nor experience to best use the proximity of sources of supply. Its purchases of malt began in 1999 and he sold his first bottles end of 2002. In 2003, sales reached 7,000 bottles. The curve will cease further increase up to 60,000 in 2006, for a production capacity of 1.2 million bottles. The commercial network becomes bigger and diversifies accordingly. In addition to individuals (15,000 visitors per year), the distillery Guillon can now rely on a network of nearly 400 wine merchants and the linear open a number of major distributors. It is 5 to 8 of its turnover (800,000 euros in 2006) to export. This success is clearly that of a product, this single malt (100 malt) if singular, Woody nose, a little clear dress and very nature aroma in the mouth, fruit, as in Scotland, double distillation. The first step of Alchemy is to transform the malt beer from malt by fermentation. Then this beer without hops from 6 to 8 degrees through two stills of 750 litres each, "purchased from opportunity to a distillery of the Black Forest of the kirsch", to form a "malt imperfect" 25 to 30 degrees volume distilled a second time in a still of 300 litres. The white liquid leaving reached 80 degrees. "The tail and head, sold to the industry in the form of neutral alcohol or burning, are separated and it does keep the heart of heater", said Thierry Guillon. All is finally diluted in source water, first to 65 degrees, a second time at Assembly in drums four to five years later, the down to 40, 42 or 46 degrees depending on the three products developed by the marnaise distillery. The oak barrels are of vital importance. They give this color amber with a liquid that would be without them that desperately white. Thierry Guillon buys these aging barrels near Reims, or second hand, in Burgundy, then then preferring the white drums (Meursault), which gives the roundness whisky, red drums whose tannins dry it. The drums of finishing for the last six months of maturation are ancient drums of yellow wine (banyuls, sauterne or maury in the Southwest) that enrich the final product of a bouquet complex aromas of ripe for some, understory fruit or leather for others. Forgotten technical experimentation and the administrative difficulties of the early days. If he remains and intends to remain "small" preserving human and his company of six persons, family size artisan Thierry Guillon is tempted to adopt "an industrial model" to "0.1 " of a French market estimated at 150 million bottles.