Roll out the barrel…
This term originates from a Polish dance called the “Beer Barrel Polka”. It was adapted by an American and issung in times of celebration. Today we are celebrating a teeny tiny success (riquiqui)… We have made progress with the paperwork! It feels as though there are “a million and one” steps involved in obtaining the correct paperwork in a European country, however, as of today I can safely say we have completed at least one of those steps! We have registered #MaisonBembeno with the relevant authorities and we have a working bank account! To celebrate moving on to the next delay *wink wink*, we have opted to spend some time working on the physical home for the distillery.
Bricks and mortar…
Like all my friends, family is the most important thing in the whole world and this summer we have welcomed 6 grandchildren to #uncoindeparadis and are looking forward to spending 10 days with my brother, sister in law and their energetic offspring! Mid July… Ably assisted by my little assistant aka grandson no.2 aka freddiethewonderkid, we began preparing the home for our still aka Guinevere.
We are working to a deadline, and that deadline is September 14th. 14.09.2026 is our #dday i.e. the day the distillery arrives. First job was to remove the roofing and prepare the walls for some insulated panels. Thankfully, Freddie was able to show me how to manipulate the manitou which made removing the 36 roof panels in 42.6 degree heat much more manageable.
We currently have 2 stills, the first is named after my mother, Patricia, like my mum, she can be a bit temperamental but mostly brings joy and fun to the world. Our second still, Guinevere, has been named because of the link between Roue Arzhur (the Breton adaption of the King Arthur fables) and the #foretdeBrocielande. The forest is on our doorstep and we are in the process of sourcing some of its hundreds of years old white oak ready for the cooperage.
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Recipes…
It must be said, working in a 40+ degree heat on the top of a roof is quite a challenge and I literally had to trip the light fantastic (fleet of foot) to avoid crashing through the roof. We recovered from the worst of the heat by retreating to “Patricia” to begin the process of creating new recipes. After taking inspiration from the excellent Withers Gin School in Derby, we have been sourcing botanicals from around Brittany and are especially excited to try infusing our latest gin with the Glendora Prostrata flower, which is to be found in Finistere on the Crozon peninsula. Locals call this flower the crozonniare or heavenly blue. We hope that this botanical will give our gin a magical colour.
Firkin about…
When we acquired #uncoindeparadis in #Langonan, Brittany, there were 6 #tun casks left by the previous owner in the building that will become our distillery. These tun casks were used for apples and have sadly since perished, however, it seems poetic that we are bringing this craft back to our hamlet. Casks play a vital part in the maturation and flavour journey for both the wines and the spirits. As previously mentioned in earlier blogs, our harvest of wine will be matured in champagne barrels, but our whisky spirits will be matured in a variety of barrel sizes from Firkin to maybe even a Hogshead! Our skilled and gifted cooper (on the Cote D’armor) will create both new European barrels and reworked bourbon barrels for our first year fills. The smaller barrels allow more of the whisky to touch and osmose the oaks properties, meaning the maturation journey may be shorter (who knows???), conversely a hogshead will take a few more years to absorb the joys and flavour from its oaky profile. Which is good… because in that time I need to sort out a great pastis recipe and increase the number of vines we are tending.
Maison Bembeno…
At the beginning of this blog I mentioned that we had enjoyed some success with the paperwork and it is true, we have. Whilst the main focusses of August will be to firstly tend the vines and nurture them against the heat and drought our second and third will be to finish the bricks and mortar and apply for our DRIEETS letter. We will start carving some time out of our work schedules to think about the intangibles, i.e. the digital assets, the brand, the customer profile and more… To this end we have begun speaking to specialist photographers, marketing agencies and designers.
One of my greatest joys is to be inspired by members of my alumni. This week I have been energised and entertained by the sensation that is Mark Mitchell Design: https://markmitchelldesign.com/ You will have seen his pieces in magazines across the globe and he very kindly gave me an hour of his time, discussing art focussed products. Authenticity, provenance and sustainability are all central tenets of Maison Bembeno and aside from creating amazing recipes, I also want to create a bottle design that is driven by art. We will “let the good times roll”, by being true to our terroir and #patrimoine.
Coming soon… a blog update on the vines at #barrelandvine. Please subscribe, like and follow for all of our updates.
Ps… you might even find Maison Bembeno on Linked In.
Pps… if you fancy being an early adopter, #watchthisspace
