Just FYI: Ratafia Champenois is a French liqueur made in the Champagne region classified as fortified grape must. The grape must is fortified with grape brandy, and the resulting drink is usually kept in oak. Those are not - strictly speaking - Champagne barrels...
That makes a lot more sense for the sweetness they've imparted on the whisky (and a sign I should have paid more attention in French class). I guess when they say "Champagne barrels" they're meaning "barrels from the Champagne region" 😛
Nice one guys, good vertical tasting. The Ratafia Champenois casks which these whiskies have been finished in are actually a type of fortified wine. Gilles Dumagnin, the owner, very generously sent me a bottle of his Ratafia and these samples so I could compare what the cask effect was. The best I could describe the flavour is, it's between a sherry and Tawny port. Delicious stuff and I can totally see the apricot note coming back and back again. It's hilarious how this exact video was in the pipeline for me for the upcoming weeks! Great minds think alike indeed 😃🥃
@@thewhiskyenthusiast thanks mate, I’ll be keen to see your take on it. The more I learn about the French wine industry, the more I realise I don’t know. I think Australia really only sees the produce that’s mass produced, so smaller produce lines like Ratafia Champenois are completely new to me. It’s always fun to learn something new.
Just FYI: Ratafia Champenois is a French liqueur made in the Champagne region classified as fortified grape must. The grape must is fortified with grape brandy, and the resulting drink is usually kept in oak. Those are not - strictly speaking - Champagne barrels...
That makes a lot more sense for the sweetness they've imparted on the whisky (and a sign I should have paid more attention in French class). I guess when they say "Champagne barrels" they're meaning "barrels from the Champagne region" 😛
Nice one guys, good vertical tasting. The Ratafia Champenois casks which these whiskies have been finished in are actually a type of fortified wine. Gilles Dumagnin, the owner, very generously sent me a bottle of his Ratafia and these samples so I could compare what the cask effect was. The best I could describe the flavour is, it's between a sherry and Tawny port. Delicious stuff and I can totally see the apricot note coming back and back again.
It's hilarious how this exact video was in the pipeline for me for the upcoming weeks! Great minds think alike indeed 😃🥃
@@thewhiskyenthusiast thanks mate, I’ll be keen to see your take on it. The more I learn about the French wine industry, the more I realise I don’t know. I think Australia really only sees the produce that’s mass produced, so smaller produce lines like Ratafia Champenois are completely new to me. It’s always fun to learn something new.