Parole de Breizh, invites you to discover the Pink Granite Coast through encounters with those who live Brittany, transform it, cultivate it. These ambassadors are craftsmen, artists, producers… but above all, inhabitants of the Trégor. They love the Pink Granite Coast and explain to you why cultivate the essential!”
Meeting #14Word of BreizhSébastien Famel
In 2019, it’s the beginning of a new adventure for Sebastien and three other members of his family. They all embark together on the creation of a Breton Gin with coastal flavors…
Before embarking on this adventure, Sebastien worked in a mobile application development company. At the closure of this one, he felt like starting in the captivating world of the conception of spirits, surrounded by close relatives also passionate.
He then creates the distillery Ar Roc’h in La Roche-Derrien by taste of the artisanal work and to be able to share the passion which animates him.
Ar Roc'h products
Currently, 3 spirits and 3 liqueurs are offered for sale. Of the two Gin recipes, La Roche Sauvage won a 2022 London Gin Awards. It is a well-balanced gin with a subtle combination of iodine, floral and mineral flavors. The second, La Roche Effet Mer, focuses on the iodine side with botanicals picked in Plougrescant, namely Sea Fennel, lemon balm as well as gorse flowers.
The latest spirit is a Breton Pastis. It is the fruit of the desire to mix Mediterranean flavors with plants of the sun (fennel, thyme, rosemary, anise and licorice) with those of Brittany (borage for the iodine side and geranium for the floral side).
Sébastien has also created three liqueurs with different flavors:
- The Habibisus, a melon hibiscus liqueur
- The Unexpected, a geranium-based liqueur
- The Perfect Love, a lemon coriander liqueur
Cultivating the essential
What does the phrase “Cultivating the essential” inspire in your craft?
“It’s going back to the roots and working with this tool the still, calling up so many childhood memories.”
“The objective of Ar Roc’h is to find the right balance between the iodine of the seaside and the mineral side of the granite land of the Trégor.”
See you at
The Ar Roc'h distillery
The Ar Roc’h distillery draws its inspiration from the terroir of Trégor, between Armor (sea) and Argoat (land). The work is done with patience and passion. As Sébastien says, distillation is the taste of time passing.
Sébastien is installed in an ideal location to develop his know-how: an old cellar, built in 1920.
