top of page
Hades

Release date: June 16th 2029

 

Schema

Scene: The Graveyard

Hour: 11am

Organ: Heart

Colour: White / Black

Symbol: Caretaker

Art: Religion

Technic: Incubism

 

Episode Storyline and Characters

The episode begins with Bloom entering a funeral carriage with three others, including Stephen's father. They drive to Paddy Dignam's funeral, making small talk on the way. The carriage passes both Stephen and Blazes Boylan. There is discussion of various forms of death and burial, and Bloom is preoccupied by thoughts of his dead infant son, Rudy, and the suicide of his own father. They enter the chapel into the service and subsequently leave with the coffin cart. Bloom sees a mysterious man wearing a mackintosh during the burial. Bloom continues to reflect upon death, but at the end of the episode rejects morbid thoughts to embrace 'warm fullblooded life’.

 

Episode 6, Hades // Celebrating the centenary of the French translation of Ulysses with Distillerie des Menhirs

The Distillerie des Menhirs story began in 1921, (Ulysses was first published in Paris the following year), driven by an astonishingly determined lady called Francès Le Lay, great-great grandmother to the brothers Erwan, Kévin and Loig who now manage the company. Francès bought a second-hand pot still used for distilling cider into apple brandy known as lambig in Brittany. Her son Guillaume, then her grandson René perpetuated the tradition, playing their part in making Plomelin the regional lambig capital. In 1955, there were no less than seven registered itinerant pot still distillers from Plomelin with its 1,400 inhabitants.


The 1980s were a turning point. René’s son, Guy was a maths teacher and spent his school holidays distilling. René didn’t encourage him to take over the business as distilling permits were getting harder to get and the trade seemed to be doomed. Guy’s passion got the better of him, and against all the odds, he left teaching with the initial idea of just wanting to keep the family tradition alive. However, he ended up completely rethinking it and in 1986, he officially established the Distillerie des Menhirs at Pont Menhir.

 

Distillerie des Menhirs are the only distillery in the world to make 100% buckwheat whisky. There are many good reasons why no one had thought of buckwheat before Guy Le Lay. Known as “poor-mans’ wheat” it not only has a low yield per hectare, but also produces half as much alcohol as barley which is usually used to make whisky. However, these drawbacks are more than compensated for by its exceptional, powerful aromas. Add to this the Breton climate with humidity levels similar to those in Ireland and Scotland but with warmer temperatures, giving Brittany a distinct advantage in the ageing process. All that remained to be done was understand the cereal so as to reveal its perfumes in a spirit. During this testing phase, Guy Le Lay was lucky enough to be advised by an international expert, Robert Léauté, a well-established cellar master from Cognac. Robert Léauté taught Guy the art of distilling, ageing and blending whisky. As it happens, buckwheat, a cereal originating centuries before from the Far East, is remarkably well adapted to Breton soil.

 

Distillerie des Menhirs are creating a unique expression of their EDDU buckwheat whisky, with handpicked ex-cognac casks and three aging processes (one for each of the three iterations of the French translation of Ulysses and the three brothers Le Lay). The second and third casks should impart additional flavors and nuances to the whisky, resulting in a unique and complex dram. We will be filling only 3,750 bottles on June 16th 2029 in celebration of the centenary of the French translation of Ulysses. We await this episode with great anticipation!

 

Read the full backstory here.

Hades

€1,000.00Price
Tax Included |

Distillerie des Menhirs is regularly awarded at the Concours Général Agricole de Paris, in fact it is the most awarded Breton company for the quality of its spirits. Distillerie des Menhirs has also won many international awards, including IWSC accolades.

bottom of page