They have much in common: they are both French premium spirits produced in South West France, they are both white wine grape brandies with their own Appellation Contrôlée, they are both aged in oak in well-charred barrels, they can both be aged for considerable periods, they are both normally reduced in strength before bottling, and they share many of the same quality descriptors. But there are many differences....
Read MoreBrandy is exploding in the American market. It may not get the popular-press attention and cultural buzz that other spirits do, but the numbers don’t lie.
It made up 5.7 percent of the U.S. spirits market in 2015 - more than gin, scotch and blended whiskey. Between 2002 and 2015, super premium bottlings rocketed up by 226.9%, and premium by a mind-boggling 340.5%, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).
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While Armagnac requires aging in oak barrels, not just any oak will do. It is critical for Armagnac production to select the right wood and age and dry it to perfection before starting to make the barrels.
Although oak from other regions can legally be used, purists insist on barrels made from the black oak of the local Monlezun forest
Read MoreAs you’re probably aware, liquor labels can be a bit confusing. You’ve seen them—letters like VS, VSOP, XO. So what does it all mean? Before you try to rearrange the letters like some kind of Sunday jumble, just remember this: all the letters on any bottle of Armagnac you’ll see refer to one thing: Aging.
Read MoreDespite a diet that should fur up their arteries faster than you can say camembert, the French have healthier hearts than most. Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Gascony, where hearty Gascons consume prodigious quantities of foie gras while topping France’s longevity charts—in some measure thanks to Armagnac.
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