What non Whiskey or Rum Spirit (Cognac, Mezcal, Calvados etc) are we drinking?

Weepsie wrote:

Can we get on the white port train here.

Haven't tried Port much. Got a mini pack of Graham’s Port which includes a Fine White Port. I'll have to give it a go soon. Any brands to recommend?

Celtic Whiskey are doing a Chateau Du Breuil Calvados Tasting at the end of March.

5 x 30ml which includes samples of the Chateau Du Breuil 8 Year Old, 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old, 20 Year Old and Sauternes.

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Chateau-Du-Breuil-Calvados-Tasting-Pack-31st-March-Eu

BonnieSituation made me sign up to this one. I have a couple of other Calvados miniatures that I've yet to try. There has been a few Irish Whiskey Calvados finishes recently so it'll be interesting to try the source.

killbillvol2 wrote:

I'm going to have to add you to my ignore list!

I wish I could ignore myself at times.

Reading up Armagnac recently. It's another spirit I intend to start collecting. I'll start off with samples and progress to some large bottles. I'll post a series of information over the next few days on its production, history and bottles to try etc.

The Armagnac region, in the very heart of Aquitaine, is west of Toulouse and south-east of Bordeaux. Wine has been made there for over 2000 years, and white wine has been distilled there since the Middle Ages.

Armagnac is the oldest wine spirit in the world, as attested to in a document written by the monk Vital du Four in 1310. He describes an “eau ardente” – or pungent water, and praises its medicinal properties. Today, Armagnac is obtained by distilling white wine in a column still, though the still has evolved over time, as is described further on.

Indeed eau-de-vie has been made in Armagnac since the Middle Ages, however trade in spirits only started in an organised fashion in the early 18th century, with the development of commercial contacts with Dutch merchants. This is precisely the era – 1711 – that Château de Lacquy was purchased to produce Armagnac. The Armagnac region is landlocked and never benefited from the extraordinary commercial development that Cognac enjoyed due to the navigability of the Charente river. As a result Armagnac remained an artisanal product which today endows it with its specific aura and its character.

The appellation was created in the 20th century, first by the Decree of 25 May 1909 which defined the production area, then by the Decree of 6 August 1936 which created the AOC.

Today there are 5,135 hectares identified in the appellation, of which 1,980 were used in for distillation in 2016. This contrasts with the 75,000 hectares for the Cognac appellation. 3 million bottles of Armagnac are sold each year, approximately half in France and half on the export market. Another contrast with Cognac: the Hennessy firm in Cognac sold 72 million bottles of Cognac in 2015, which is more than 20 times the entire Armagnac appellation.

Armagnac is indeed a rare and deluxe product.

The story of Armagnac continued.

The Armagnac region is divided into 3 growing areas: the “Bas-Armagnac” (3,480 hectares in 2016), the “Ténarèze” (1,588 hectares in 2016) and the “Haut-Armagnac” (68 hectares in 2016), and spreads over 3 French counties, les Landes, Gers and Lot-et-Garonne. The vines that grow grapes for the production of Armagnac cover between 5,000 and 5,500 hectares depending on the year, whereas the entire vineyard for the region covers 15,000 hectares and is primarily destined for the production of Côtes de Gascogne wines and Floc.

What is the difference between Haut-Armagnac and Bas-Armagnac?

Bas-Armagnac is the northernmost part of Armagnac. Its name comes from the fact that it is quite simply the lowest geographical area in Armagnac: 60 to 120 metres altitude as compared to 150 to 200 metres altitude for Haut-Armagnac. Bas-Armagnac spreads across county Gers and the county of Les Landes and is considered to be the region which produces the finest and most aromatic eau-de-vie spirits. The most famous area within Bas-Armagnac used to be called the “Grand bas-Armagnac » or “Grand-Bas”.

The primary differences between Armagnac and Cognac relate to the soils, the varietals, the artisanal nature of Armagnac production, and the type of still that is used for distillation. The Cognac still is a pot still whilst the Armagnac still is a continuous column still.

Thus, Cognac is distilled twice. The first time between 28% and 32% alcohol (the first distillate, known as “brouillis”) then this brouillis is redistilled between 68% to 72% alcohol. Armagnac, on the other hand, is distilled only once, generally between 52% and 56% alcohol.

Cognac is primarily made from distilling wines made from Ugni-blanc grapes, whereas Armagnac is primarily distilled from wines made from Ugni-blanc, Baco and Colombard grapes.

A further difference is that Armagnac is generally an artisanal product that remains closely connected to its terroir and the grape varietals, whereas Cognac is for all practical purposes an industrial product. In 2017, worldwide, 3,000,000 bottles of Armagnac were sold compared to 197,000,000 bottles of Cognac. 80% of the Cognac sold is sold by Hennessy, Martell, Rémy-Cointreau and Courvoisier.