About a year ago I had the pleasure of meeting The Whisky Woman…aka Alison Patel. I first learned about Allison during my research on other women in the whisky world, and was excited to find out that she too lives in NYC (what a coincidence)!
After following Allison’s blog for some time, she came out with an exciting and groundbreaking announcement. Not only is she a woman who is passionate and knowledgeable about whisky – she is a woman who founded, produces and owns her own whisky brand – Brenne! I knew I had to meet her and try Brenne.
I met Allison at a sampling event last fall for Brenne. There are not enough good things to say about her; she is sweet, down-to-earth, driven, passionate…the list goes on. What really resonated with me was the fact that her whisky is truly a product of her own blood, sweat and tears. She has been involved in every step of the process; from conceptualizing and travelling to Cognac where she met her distiller, to starting her own importing company through which she imports Brenne. Every step of the process was and is authentically Allison.
Not only is Allison’s story incredible, but so is the whisky itself. Brenne is unique in that it is produced in the Cognac region of France, clearly not the norm for whiskies. This first edition, entitled Estate Cask, has no age statement as every barrel is bottle in Single Barrel releases. Upon tasting it I immediately got notes of fruit, especially banana, which is beautifully balanced by the spiciness of malted barley and sweetness of the Cognac soaked oak barrels. Let’s just say that it was so good that I walked out with two bottles that night!
After enjoying Brenne over the past year I have come to find that my favorite way to sip it is neat with a twist of citrus and a few drops of water. If you are in the market for something new and a little different than what you are used, to I highly recommend Brenne. (Not to mention I always enjoy supporting my fellow women in the whisky community!)
Cheers!
The Whiskey Dame 