My Recap Of 2025

Coldorak

2025 shifted the balance in the glass: less whisky, more cognac, more time spent writing, and a touch less actual drinking… or at least that was the intention. The rhythm changed, but the year still brimmed with memorable bottles, tasting sessions, and stories worth revisiting.

Whisky Shows & Malt in France

This year again, I spent time at a few whisky shows, always either behind a stand or helping with the organisation.

The first whisky show of the year was, as so often, the Lyon Whisky Festival. I have already written several times how much I enjoy this event: the setting at the Palais de la Bourse is stunning, many of my favourite brands pour there, and I get to catch up with plenty of friends and familiar faces on both sides of the table. This time, I came up as an exhibitor, working for Aberlour again after a first stint with them at Whisky Live Paris 2024, and it was a blast—both being back at the festival and teaming up once more with my friend Aurélien, Pernod Ricard’s malts ambassador for France.

Next came the second edition of Malt in France in Rennes, the first show dedicated entirely to French whisky, returning after a very successful debut last year. Once again held on the first weekend of April (and we plan the same slot for our third edition next year), I feel genuinely happy to play a role in the organisation team, even if personal life sometimes limits how much help I can give. The second edition worked very well: more private visitors came through the doors, distilleries and other exhibitors again left with very positive feedback about the show and its atmosphere – and we really do look after them – and the Malt in France shop saw sales surge compared to the first year. Those results give our non-profit association valuable breathing room for the budget of the third edition.

Then came late September and, of course, Whisky Live Paris, the biggest show in Europe, which welcomed more than 25,000 visitors and 300 exhibitors for its 21st edition. Once again, I worked with Aurélien and Aberlour distillery, and this time shared the stand with people I know well, like Mika, Bordeaux’s SMWS ambassador, and Antoine from Pernod Ricard. Beyond pouring great whisky – the new A’Bunadh Double-Sherry Finish really stands out – I enjoyed meeting the usual mix of friends and familiar faces, and finally put real-life faces to people I had only known through social media or email until then, such as Nate from Whiskybase, Mathieu Martines, a cognac-focused photographer whose work I admire (and who took some great shots of me), and many others.

However, no Nantes Spirits Festival this year, as I had a personal event to attend, more important than whisky!

More Drams Less Drama

2025 brought a major shift for More Drams Less Drama compared to previous years. I used to post erratically, with long gaps between articles, but I resolved to change that this year. Since January, I have aimed to publish three times a week – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 7 a.m. France time.

I stuck to that schedule closely, apart from a three-week break in July (sickness and holidays) and one missed post this Monday. December brought another exception: the Cognac-Expert Advent Calendar, where I posted almost daily and skipped only the cognacs I had already reviewed earlier in the year.

This discipline tripled my output from 2024’s 52 articles to 161 in 2025 (158 of them reviews). The numbers reflect it in spirit coverage too: 366 spirits reviewed (including five cask samples without rankings), including 303 whiskies and 63 malternatives – mostly cognac at 55, plus four armagnacs and four Calvados.

This showed in the blog’s statistics: from less than 40,000 views last year, More Drams earned about 150,000 views in 2025, with about 13,000 views alone for my review of the Johnnie Walker 18-year-old and two editions of Johnnie Walker Blue. What I also didn’t expect was the origin of my readers: a third of them came from China! 25% came from the United States, and the UK is below 10% of my readers.

Origin of More Drams Less Drama readers in 2025
Origin of More Drams Less Drama readers in 2025.

The most featured brands on More Drams Less Drama in 2025 were:

  • Glen Scotia and Dingle: 13 whiskies each
  • Bruichladdich (including Port Charlotte and Octomore) and Bimber: 10 whiskies each

Whisky Statistics

Quite a number of whisky distilleries appeared for the first time in 2025 in these pages:

  • Scottish distilleries: Allt-A-Bhainne, Ardmore, Ballindalloch, Balvenie, Braeval, Bunnahabhain, Coleburn, Convalmore, Daftmill, Dumbarton, Glen Keith, Glendullan, Glenfiddich, Glenkinchie, Glentauchers, Kingsbarns, Knockando, Knockdhu, Lagavulin, Littlemill, Port Dundas, Rosebank, Scapa, St. Magdalene, Strathearn, Talisker, Tamdhu
  • Japanese: Miyagikyo, Shizuoka
  • American: WhistlePig, Wild Turkey
  • European: Circumstance, Lambertus, London Distillery Co, Pointe Blanche, Scheibel Mühle, Slyrs
  • Other: Indri (India), Ondjaba (Namibia)

If we look at whisky independent bottlers, there were a number of additions as well:

  • Scott’s Selection (9 reviews)
  • The Single Cask Ltd (4 reviews)
  • Living Souls, van Wees, Wemyss Malts (3 reviews each)
  • Brühler Whiskyhaus, Decadent Drinks, James Eadie, The Whisky Jury (2 reviews each)

Globally, in 2025, out of the 303 whiskies reviewed, 181 were from official bottlings, and 122 from independent bottlers.

Whisky Tops and Flops

In 2025, 6 whiskies were rated a brilliant 9 out of 10, the highest note ever given to a whisky on More Drams, since the change to the 10-point scale:

My top whisky reviewed in 2025
The best whiskies reviewed in 2025

At the other end of the scale, four whiskies were rated 1 and 2 out of 10:

Malternative Statistics

2025 boosted malternatives coverage sharply, from 30 reviews in 2024 to 63 this year, with 55 cognacs leading the charge. A February trip to Cognac cemented this growing passion, as later sections will detail. Like last year, I savoured the Cognac-Expert 2025 Advent Calendar, this time as a generous gift directly from Cognac-Expert themselves.

As cognacs and other malternatives remain relatively new territory here, fresh discoveries dominated: 27 new producers out of 36 total, with the top newcomers as follows:

  • Christian Drouin (3 Calvados),
  • Egreteau (3 Cognacs),
  • Guynot/Landreau/Ragnaud Sabourin (2 Cognacs each)

We also had new bottlers for malternatives:

  • Malternative Belgium (5 cognacs)
  • Authentic Spirits (2 cognacs)
  • Decadent Drinks (1 cognac)
  • London Distillery Co (1 apple brandy)

However, familiar names topped the most-reviewed producers:

  • Jean-Luc Pasquet: 8 cognacs reviewed
  • Famille Cabanne : 5 cognacs reviewed
  • Vallein Tercinier : 5 cognacs reviewed
  • Prunier : 5 cognacs reviewed
  • Christian Drouin: 3 Calvados reviewed
  • Egreteau: 3 cognacs reviewed

Malternatives Tops and Flops

2025 delivered some exceptional malternatives, but cognacs clearly stole the show. These picks come from More Drams reviews only – some mind-blowing experiences skipped formal write-ups but appear later in this post. One cognac came closest to perfection at 9.5/10, while four others earned excellent marks of 8.5/10.

The runaway winner at 9.5/10: Famille Cabanne Lot 24, a 100-year-old Grande Champagne cognac. Generations of craft and a full century in cask make it special, but its stunning freshness defies expectations of heavy oak – Famille Cabanne worked real magic to preserve such vibrancy.

A step below but still outstanding, four cognacs hit 8.5/10: three from Malternative Belgium and one from Decadent Drinks as CognacSponge.

My top cognacs reviewed in 2025
The top cognacs reviewed in 2025.

Several others landed above average – solid cognacs that lacked the spark of the standouts, often due to youth or minor flaws in older expressions.

  • Jean-Luc Pasquet L’Organic 04 Grande Champagne : 5,5/10
  • Jean-Luc Pasquet L’Organic 04 Fine Champagne, L’Organic 07 Grande Champagne, Domaine Garreau Pure Insolence Bas-Armagnac, Landreau XXO Grande Champagne Cognac : all 6/10​

My Spirits Tops & Flops But Not Reviewed

Whisky shows mean tasting heaps of spirits, but not all reach this blog – fatigued palates, no time for live notes, or insufficient samples to bring home for proper sessions hold many back.

Some whisky highlights, in no particular order:

Flops joined the supermarket blends: the full Masahiro Shuzo Kujira Japanese whisky range (heavy on mushrooms) and a secret Clynelish ‘Cataibh’ 10-year-old from Chorlton Whisky.

Malternatives shone too, mostly cognacs:

Others fell short in terms of objective tasting, but stunned through sheer experience and significance – details await in the next section below.

A Trip To Cognac

Back in February, I went for a few days to the Cognac region with my partner. On the menu was some sightseeing, but also, of course, a visit to a few Cognacs producers: Prunier, Grosperrin, Famille Cabanne and Jean-Luc Pasquet.

Cognac Prunier

The first stop took me to Cognac Prunier, right in the heart of Cognac town. Alice Burnez welcomed me and led a tour through the house, one of the cellars, the Paradis, and the bottling room – where skilled hands add fine details like the gold seal. After an extensive tour that let me fire off plenty of questions, tasting time arrived. Claire had prepared the lineup ahead of time, since she couldn’t join, and Alice lined up a generous flight of 12 bottles.

Once my partner started losing interest after the first seven (she doesn’t drink), I filled sample bottles with the last five – the ones I reviewed later in 2025 here. I also picked up a stunning bottle of their 1979 vintage, the same one I had tasted earlier from a The Whisky Jury bottling thanks to my friend Matthieu, plus a set of beautiful Prunier-branded nosing glasses from Lehmann.

Cognac Grosperrin

The next day, I headed to the beautiful town of Saintes to visit Cognac Grosperrin. I had booked a warehouse tasting, and Axelle Grosperrin – Guilhem’s sister and manager of La Cale, a beautifully stocked liquor shop packed with fantastic cognacs, whiskies, and other spirits – welcomed me warmly.

Axelle guided me through the adjacent warehouse, hopping from cask to cask as she spotted cognacs she insisted I try. We far exceeded the planned number for this tour, sampling 16 straight from casks and demijohns: young blends from 1978 to 1985 eaux-de-vie up to a 1914 all-woman cognac or a demijohn mixing of 1929, 1947, and pre-phylloxera spirits.

The adventure didn’t stop there – I tasted my first pre-phylloxera cognac, an 1858 Grande Champagne sample from her shop (she wasn’t even sure if 1858 marked the vintage or bottling year, thanks to incomplete paperwork). The experience stunned: nothing like any cognac I knew, intensely vinous. I also retasted an 18-year-old from Île d’Oléron vines in the Bois Ordinaire cru.

In the end, Axelle filled two 35 cl bottles of a 1975 Fins Bois I loved from the tour – she had Amy Pasquet deliver them two days later, complete with her own stunning hand-drawn labels. I also grabbed a bottle of that Île d’Oléron 18-year-old.

Famille Cabanne Cognac

On the third day, I visited Famille Cabanne – the team behind my 2024 cognac highlight, the Richard Delisle Lot 53, and the utterly mind-boggling Lot 1924. Laurie Dos Santos welcomed me; at the time, she served as their communications and marketing manager, with her father Victor as the main distiller.

She timed the visit so Victor worked that day, giving me an in-depth tour of production, including their impressive still room with fifteen stills. Victor shared plenty of insights – I even tasted their new make. After a quick warehouse peek, I headed to Alexis Cabanne’s office; Alexis runs things as the current CEO.

There, I sampled several of their cognacs, but Alexis pulled out something extraordinary: a 1806 cognac (cru unknown to me). He explained it spent nearly 200 years in wood until around 2005, when he racked it to demijohns – the original cask now holds century-old Pineau des Charentes. As he poured from the bottle’s end, the nose had faded, but the palate burst with life, distinct from modern cognacs though less vinous than Grosperrin’s 1858. Tasting another pre-phylloxera spirit – distilled under Napoleon Bonaparte, aged almost two centuries – marks an unforgettable highlight. I can’t thank Alexis and Laurie enough. They also generously sold me bottles of the Lot 53 and Lot 1924, which had already left a deep mark back in December 2024.

Cognac Jean-Luc Pasquet

On the fourth and final day, my partner and I visited Jean-Luc Pasquet. The ever-lovely Amy Pasquet, Jean’s wife, welcomed us warmly.

We toured the property, checked out their vines and warehouse, and peeked at the new distillery buildings under construction. Naturally, we sampled cognacs afterward – Amy offered my partner more approachable options too (grape juice and raspberry liqueur, I believe).

As always with Amy, we had a fantastic time, especially after knowing each other for years now – I always stop by to say hi when we cross paths at Whisky Live Paris, for instance. Funny enough, while she poured me plenty of cognacs in February, by September I hosted her, Jean, Ainsley Fife from Dramface, and some of his friends for a private tasting of Secret Speyside whiskies in the Pernod Ricard VIP room at Whisky Live Paris.

Before the long drive back to Rennes – with a heavy heart and a burning urge to return to Cognac – I stocked up on a few bottles, capping my cognac shopping spree and utterly demolishing the trip budget!

What’s Next For 2026?

I hope to carry this momentum into 2026, focusing most attention on whisky and cognac while holding the steady publication rhythm. A house move around March will demand plenty of packing and settling, so I may pause the full schedule until after.

Above all, I wish you, dear reader, the very best for 2026—abundant beautiful drams shared with friends and family—and thank you for your trust, loyalty, and readership of More Drams and this humble servant.

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