Armorik is a proud product of Distillerie Warenghem, situated in the coastal town of Lannion in Brittany, France. The family-run Distillery has been in production for over 100 years and began with distilling spirits and liqueurs. The first whisky was produced in 1987 as the first Breton and French whisky ever produced. 

It was in 1993 when the first French distillery solely dedicated to the production of whisky was constructed. In 1998, the first French single malt whisky was launched under the Armorik name. It took 15 years but in 2013 the Armorik Double Maturation won Best European Single Malt” at the World Whisky Awards. The evolution of Armorik whisky reached a pinnacle in 2018 when the Double Maturation was rated No. 6 in the world by Whisky Advocate. Armorik continues to grow as a world-renowned whisky distillery.

The Distillery
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Situated in Brittany, France

“Brittany, its soil and its people have forged the identity and flavour of Armorik.”

Distillerie Warenghem prides themselves in producing Breton whiskies true to their terroir; from the water, produced from a slight flaw in the granite directly beneath the distillery, to the organically grown grain and barley and to the maritime climate on the north coast. In old Breton, the word “Armor” means “the sea”, referring to the wild coastline of Brittany whose influence shines through in their exciting whiskies.

In 2015, Armorik participated in the Breton Whisky geographical indication. This “GI” guarantees that the Breton whiskies produced are made with water sourced locally, the barley and grain are local and French, the whiskies are fermented, distilled and aged in Brittany, France. This provides whisky lovers with a guarantee and transparency that these whiskies are truly Breton whiskies.

The People
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The Warenghem Distillery was founded in 1900 by Leon Warenghem. His son took over the distillery in 1919 and continued his father’s legacy in the production of liqueurs. The Warenghem family continued into the third generation running the distillery until 1967 when Yves Leizour joined forces with Warenghem until 1983 when Gilles Leizour, Yves son, became sole owner. 

This marked the turning point of the distillery with Gilles making the bold move to produce the first French whisky in 1987. In 1993, he built a new distillery designed to produce exclusively whisky with new copper stills. Then in 1998, the first French single malt was born, Armorik. Today, David Roussier, Gilles son in law, is at the helm of operations and continuing Gilles' dream passionately to produce great French single malt whiskies.