Delord 25 year Armagnac. Wow, this is surprisingly my first ever bottle talk on the wonderful, beautiful spirit of Armagnac. Where to start…

Armagnac is a French grape brandy, similar to Cognac but made in a different region using different grapes and production processes.

This bottle is one of the best and most often recommended bottles to dive head first into the magnificent world of Armagnac. Before you roll your eyes at investing in a 25 year old bottle (#homebargoal status, right?), lemme tell ya this 25 year spirit can run you under $60 (Total Wine)! Ok what spirit category can you find this kind of deal?!

Although Cognac spends and brings in the big bucks with its international marketing and has built a reputation as a premium luxury French spirit (which in all fairness, it is), Armagnac is the unsung hero in the brandy game, the charming hero quietly sitting in the corner. The amazing pricing reflects the business principles and industry structure of Armagnac (with very minimal markup from consumer demand and advertising costs).

Armagnac is still very much a cottage industry; families grow grapes on their rural farms, some may be used for wine, and traveling distillers come around yearly to distill wines into Armagnac. The majority of it is drank locally, and some are stored in barrels to age until some buyer/importer comes along.

In terms of flavor, Armagnac is generally bolder than Cognac. Maybe you find Cognac very soft, refined, and mellow…Armagnac is its more down-to-earth, sometimes rebellious sister. It can be earthy, or jammy, or even somewhat brine-y. In many ways it’s more “interesting.”