Whiskey, gin, vodka and eaux-de-vie: a 100% Aude distillery in Laure-Minervois

Whiskey is not a license reserved only for the Scots. In Aude, between Trèbes and Laure-Minervois, Bows (Brave Occitan Wild Spirit), an artisanal distillery, has taken up residence at the Gibalaux estate for three years. In 2016, Benoît Garcia had already launched into the production of spirits in Montauban. A little cramped, he and his wife found their paradise in Minervois by purchasing an old disused wine cellar, surrounded by around forty hectares of agricultural land.

50 times less water than a traditional distillery

When we met him in 2022, a huge amount of work awaited him to restore this property, which had been eaten away by time. Endless days transforming the cellar into a gleaming distillery, a vast barn into a home, a farmhouse into six rental apartments, the couple's schedule was overflowing with tasks. The fallow fields, following the uprooting of the vines, were sown with barley and sorghum. The young business leader is rightly proud of being a creator of strong alcohols from seed to label: “I am practically self-sufficient in the malt necessary for the production of my whiskeys and other strong alcohols. The supplements are provided by cereals from the neighboring Graines Équitables cooperative for entirely local production. I also wanted to work in a responsible economy, respecting the environment by using 50 times less water than one. classic distillery I carried out research and found a process from Asia allowing the malting of cereals with very little water, namely 200 liters for a tonne of malt, while the needs of a classic distillery are 5,000 liters for the same volume In terms of stills, I use 30% energy compared to a traditional distillery by distilling under vacuum and lowering the boiling point by 100°. at 60° I add that I run on green electricity, whether it comes from hydroelectric, solar or wind power. In addition, the cultivation of cereals is entirely organic, with the organic waste used for animal feed and the liquid part for soil amendment.

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I tested the strong alcohols from the Bows Distillery for you

A visit confirms the coherence of the company's desire to develop virtuous production, by adapting to the configuration of the premises. The space reserved for brand new, custom-made stills is impressive, while the storage of raw alcohols in thermoregulated stainless steel vats is optimized. In another part of the cellar, the cellars in French oak barrels are perfectly aligned. The tasting cellar is worth the detour with a sealed room where the line of bottles with careful packaging provides an intimate decor associated with the arrangement of glass carboys filled with the different cereals and aromatic plants involved in the production of spirits.

Cabanel and Franck Putelat won over by the quality of these spirits

The Bows distillery range has around ten references. Benleioc brand whiskey represents half of it. There is one made from sorghum, a Koji malt from a carbon-free process, the only one in Europe, a peat smoked, a malted barley and a unique barrel. The collection is enriched with Bandarel, a gin made with a selection of 14 aromatic plants picked in the moors and woods adjoining the distillery, Fiba, a cactus brandy smoked with olive wood, a vodka made from 'a distillation of durum wheat from the estate, an absinthe. Only white and amber rums are produced with organic sugar cane molasses from Panama or Thailand. Marketing extends throughout the country, in major cities to a clientele of wine merchants, cafes, restaurants, from a file of several hundred addresses prospected over the years. Locally, Cabanel establishments like those of Franck Putelat in Carcassonne were won over by the quality of these spirits made in Minervois.