In Gisors (Eure), the artisanal brewery of the De Sutter brothers, Antoine and Frédéric, has become a reference in the field of beer in twelve years of existence. What is less known is that the two brothers launched into whiskey (but also rum and gin) by creating the Société des alcools à papa last year to distil their own spirits. “We had that in mind for a while. There is a form of logic because behind a brewery, having a distillery makes sense”, sums up Antoine De Sutter.
And obviously, they are quite talented. Supported by Liam, their Scottish cellar master with a full beard, they have just won a bronze medal in the “blends” category during the 2023 edition of the famous World whiskeys awards competition which brings together producers from of the whole world.
“We wanted an accessible whisky”
“We are brand new, so we are very humble in the world of the distillery. In the end, it’s a nice surprise because we didn’t really know where we were going, but we wanted to see what we were worth in the midst of all these references”, continues the trained agricultural engineer, happy to have seduced a demanding jury with this “original Grandchamp”, the fruit of the blending of two whiskeys selected by them to embark on the deep end. “We started distilling our own whiskey with French barley, generally from the north of France. But you have to wait three years in the barrel before you can use it and market it”. Their “house” whiskeys will therefore replace from 2025 those chosen (one in France, the other abroad) to create their own bottles, ie 10,000 in total for this first year.
“We wanted an accessible whisky, with a nice length in the mouth, balance… We also wanted to highlight the cereal side, because clearly, that’s what we like”, continues Antoine De Sutter. A quality French “blend” at a relatively affordable price for amateurs since it takes around €38 to get a bottle at the De Sutter brewery shop or in their network of distributors which should expand with this prestigious award.