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Cognac Tessendier&Fils

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The Barley

For its first French whisky, Distillerie Tessendier has chosen to leave nothing to chance. The barley variety chosen, the 2-row spring barley, comes from a selection of plots meeting the strict criteria of traceability of production.

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Brewing

Throughout the fermentation, the brewer carries out regular checks. By mobilizing all his know-how, he is the guardian of the production of a high-quality beer that will influence the aromatic palette of the future single malt.
This distillation beer, called "wash", measures 9% alcohol by volume. By his choices, the brewer works at the service of the distiller who can then take over. It is this wash that will then be distilled to obtain the malt eaux-de-vie.

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Distillation

At Distillerie Tessendier, the single malts are distilled twice in Charentais copper stills, used for their high ability to conduct heat combined with malleability.

Using this material enables it to benefit from an all-copper and very long coil (65.6 yards for a 25 hL boiler, i.e. 660 gallons) which offers a long contact time and progressive condensation resulting in a delicate and elegant distillate.
The first heating is done in the 100 hL - 2,641 gallons - boiler . The second heating, or “Bonne chauffe” is done in 25 hL boilers.

Guillaume, distiller, explains the choices to be made when choosing the "bonne chauffe": "At the end of the heart, sometimes the distillate that flowed was qualitative but lacked linearity. So I made the choice to cut to have a more focused, finer heart, to keep the vivacity. The cellar master's desire to have a product that retains its power has thus led me to produce a very concentrated heart.”

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Malting

During the mash, the brewer decided to work at two temperature levels to obtain an optimal extraction. Thomas and Romuald, our brewers, have - thanks to their expertise - refined Distillerie Tessendier’s method. Their technical choices; selection of fermentation temperatures and times; and their experiences clearly shape the final product.

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Blending

Once the eaux-de-vie have reached an optimal level of maturation, the time comes for blending.

The ARLETT range was born from the expert blending of the single malts contained in the various barrels of our cellars. The realisation of the ideal marriage requires all the talent of the assembler and the cellar master. They regularly monitor all the eaux-de-vie matured in the distillery's cellars.

The Cellar Master will thus select different barrels, taste each batch to make the blend that will make up the Arlett whisky , striving to get as close as possible to the original recipe. Once the blend has been made, he proceeds to the reduction, the purpose of which is to gradually reduce the alcoholic degree of the blend until the aromas of each whisky from the Arlett range are fully revealed. Then, finally comes the moment of bottling before consumers discover all its subtlety…

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Ageing

For ageing, at Distillerie Tessendier, the Plane, Tiffon and Moreau cellars located near the Charente river are rather humid and thus give a roundness and softness to the eaux-de-vie. However, the summer temperatures of the region also allow the development of a spicy character. The patient ageing in oak barrels will, in fact, allow the whisky to assert its character and take on colours.

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