Apparently there is an actual day called Bastille Day (and there go the the French readers), and I decided to actually pick this up on said day. I bought it mostly though because look at the damn thing – it’s magnificent, fairly good value, and if you asked if it was more a bourbon or a scotch I’d wonder if the Frenchie is wearing a kilt.
(Sorry we missed last week, I thought it was scheduled and didn’t realize until Wednesday)
I know here in America there’s a lot of people who dislike the French as cowards – the short point is that they should clearly focus on making Whiskey rather than wine in my opinion (at least if this is what they are making as standard).
What they Say: “I hope you enjoy my very special whisky, which took me many years to perfect. Bastille is hand-crafted in the South-West of France, the region where I was born and live.
I use a combination of traditional and cutting edge techniques to bring out the natural characteristics of the different varieties of wood cask, water and “terroir”. Here are a few highlights of my unique method for hand-crafting whisky (leaving out some of the secrets) After the initial maturation, Bastille is finished in different styles of wooden cask which provide my whisky its delicate, harmonious and unique flavors. Bastille uses pure Gensac spring water, filtered naturally for centuries through Grande Champagne limestone.”
Taste: 6.75 – It starts as a more lowland-esque scotch, and is light here.
Aftertaste: 7.0 – The aftertaste though is really quite pleasant.
Burn/Smooth: 7.5 – There is little to no burn and it warms my heart.
Aroma: 7.5 – It’s really quite a delicious smell, and it has many characteristics of a scotch instead of normal whiskey.
Honesty: 7.5 – So the text is a bit wanky, but look at that bottle, and the name Bastille – I mean I just want this in my bar at all times. And anytime someone claims and clamors about it being French can fuck right off (pardon my french)
Mixability: 6.0
W/ Rocks: 6.0 – The ice reduces the burn, but it just doesn’t have the richness of flavor.
Value: 6.5 – For a fairly cheap blended scotch that’s a pretty good price, and for a higher quality of whiskey it’s also pretty damn good. It’s true value though is to buy and put in your bar.
Google Shop Average: $31
Website: http://www.bastillewhisky.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 6.5
noface: 7.0
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Metric Score: 48.75/70 |+| Metric Average: 6.96 |+| Reviewer Average: 6.75
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Final Thoughts: With a price like this, I can safely say that this will be a yearly tradition for me to celebrate French independence with a bottle of Bastille.
