Discover BHAKTA · Why Armagnac
A mythic spirit.
Nuance. Depth. Complexity. Tradition. Armagnac — once misunderstood — is now ascendant.
France's oldest distilled spirit, and the reason this house exists.
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Armagnac, Explained
Armagnac is France's oldest distilled spirit. Its first mention — and its mythical "forty virtues" — were recorded in 1310.
Cardinal Vital Dufour's treatise on the subject is conserved in the Vatican Library. It is a brandy — aygue ardente, "burnt wine."
1310
First recorded mention — seven centuries of practice
X
Ten permitted grape varieties — one singular spirit
I
A single distillation — character kept, never polished away
Production Process
It begins with the grape.
Armagnac is made from white grapes. The region's producers are authorized to use ten varieties — chiefly Ugni Blanc, Baco, Folle Blanche, and Colombard — ensuring an extremely diverse spirit, able to express innumerable flavor profiles.
Ugni Blanc
Baco
Folle Blanche
Colombard
+ Six More
"Why haven't I heard of Armagnac?"
Accidents of history.
Insular ingenuity
The Armagnac region is landlocked; its spirits were historically difficult to trade, hindered further by draconian English laws (1224–1776) that stopped anything but their own wines traveling on the Garonne and Adour rivers. Dutch traders circumnavigated the rules by encouraging producers to distill their wines — there were no such restrictions on spirits.
A curious rebirth
Armagnac was, and still is, made by small, artisanal, family companies of modest means — long restricted both geographically and financially in trading their products. New, dynamic generations have taken over, and the notoriety of Armagnac now spreads globally.
Armagnac vs Cognac
A stark contrast to its more polished stepbrother, 300 miles to the north.
Of all the brandies on earth, Armagnac's claim to magic reaches for the profound.
4 million bottles
Annual production
250 million
Family houses
Who makes it
Four industrial firms
Single, wood-fired
Distillation
Double
Ten grape varieties
The vineyard
One — Ugni Blanc
Armagnac
Cognac
How to Appreciate It
Neat. At room temperature.
The preferred way to drink Armagnac is neat, in a tulip glass or brandy snifter. Add a few drops of water if you like — but no more, so as not to disturb its balance.
Warm the glass in your palm. Let it open. The year will introduce itself.
Begin Here
The oldest Armagnacs known to man are resting in Vermont.