BM (Bruno Mangin) 14yo Single Malt

Now, I don’t expect many readers to be familiar with the French whisky scene, whether it be the distilleries or the people behind the liquid, so let me give you some background. Bruno Mangin founded the Rouget-De-L’Isle brewery in 1994, in Bletterans, a little town on the foothills of the Jura mountains. 

Don’t panic, these have nothing to do with a certain mass market-oriented Scottish distillery. At first Rouget-De-L’isle was just a local, small scale brewery, albeit at a time when a small scale, craft brewery was practically unheard of. I believe it was only the fifth craft brewery to open in the country. 

At one point, a batch of beer turned out spoiled, and since the money was tight, throwing it down the drain was not an option, so Bruno partnered with a local distiller to turn it into a spirit. After this first foray in spirits making, the idea of producing whisky was born. First distillation took place in 1999, and the first whisky was released in 2004. So, this distillery is older than Kilchoman or Glengyle.

The whiskies are now called BM Signature – after Bruno himself – to differentiate them from the beers, which are still produced also. Bruno is probably one of the most recognisable faces in the French whisky sphere, thanks in no small part to a glorious beard, so I guess it makes sense he’s the producer and the mascot. 

Right from the get go, Bruno wanted to use wine casks coming from producers close to the distillery. Some of you may already know this, but the Jura region of France is famous for basically two things: cheese, mainly in the form of Comté and Morbier (not pronounced more beer, sorry), and wine, notably whites made from the savagnin blanc grapes. 

There are different wines produced with savagnin. Along with regular dry whites – called ouillé – the most famous kind is undoubtedly vin jaune (“yellow wine”), which is a dry white wine, aged for a minimum of 6 years and three months in an oxidative manner. That means it’s aged in barrels that are about 230-300 litres, and never topped up, allowing a veil of yeast similar to the flor in sherry production to form on top of the wine. Vin jaune is a dry yet very aromatic wine, offering rich aromas of walnuts, curry spices and dried fruits, and goes exceptionally well with a properly aged comté cheese of at least 18 months. 

There is even an AOP in Jura which exclusively produces vin jaune, named Chateau Chalon, but the ones made in Arbois are equally good in my experience. As with whisky, talent of the producer matters more than area of production most of the time. Vin jaune is really its own thing, though I guess certain sherry wines can be a bit similar. If you want to try vin jaune, I advise searching for these producers: Stéphane Tissot, Domaine des marnes blanches, Jérôme Arnoux, Domaine des ronces or Domaine Dugois. Bottles can be pricey (50-100€ a bottle), as it is usually a very small production requiring lots of time. 

They also produce another kind of wine, sweet this time, named vin de paille, which translates to “straw wine”. It’s the one that interests us here, as the whisky tasted below was matured in a cask which held this wine. 

The name refers to the fact that the savagnin – it is mostly savagnin which is used for vin de paille, though chardonnay, poulsard and trousseau are allowed as well – grapes are dried for at least 6 weeks (and often much more) after the harvest, traditionally on wooden boards covered in straw. This allows the grape to deepen its aromas, as well as dramatically increase its sugar content – about 320-80g/L of sugar in the pressed juice – producing a wine which after fermentation, still retains somewhere in the order of 100 to 150g of sugar per litre, and aged for a minimum of three years in wood. 

Due to the very low amount of juice left in the grapes, vin de paille is quite expensive as well, often going for 40-70€ for a half bottle. Pricey for sure, but it is an absolute nectar, offering aromas of forest honeys, dried flowers, cooked fruits, and an unparalleled richness. It goes wonderfully well with a plate of strong aged cheeses, or with sweet fruit pies. Again, vin de paille is quite unique, but it can be likened to Tokaji or Pedro Ximenez sherry. 

Back to Bruno Mangin though. Word got out in the past months that Bruno was looking to retire after suffering health problems. The man has been working since he was 16, so I think we can all understand he wants to rest a little bit. He says he wants to sell and retire around 2028-29. The thing is, his children did not want to take over, and, more incredibly so, he did not manage to sell the distillery (yet). 

Even his distributor, Diva Domaines & Distilleries, wasn’t able to finance a takeover of the distillery. He did sell the still, a big Armagnac column, to still manufacturer Honoré though. I’ve read that he has since bought a new still, albeit a much smaller one, to continue production while he’s still around. 

He is also starting to sell casks, some of which date back to the early 2000’s. If there are any curious indies reading this looking for French whisky distilled in 2003-2004… Just sayin’.

So that’s the sad news. A distillery is slowly closing its doors, and a page turns in the French whisky history book. 

I’ve had my eyes on this 14yo for a while now, and hearing about Bruno’s retirement only gave me an excuse to pull the trigger and hopefully celebrate his career with a great whisky.