The seemingly staid world of armagnac was well and truly disrupted earlier this year by the arrival of a brand called Hogsworth that blends bourbon whiskey with brandy from Gascony. It’s the creation of American entrepreneur Raj Bhakta, who in 2020 began buying up aged armagnac, and the name is a mischievous dig at his former company WhistlePig, a rye whiskey distiller in Vermont that he left in 2019. As you can imagine, Bhakta has ruffled a few feathers by combining rare 42-year-old brandies with young bourbons – and that’s even before we get on to the accompanying sales pitch video, which can only be described as Trumpian.
Dog’s dinner or pig’s ear, the idea behind Hogsworth does point to something interesting going on in the spirits world: mature whisky, be it single malt scotch or bourbon, can be extremely valuable. Armagnac, by contrast, isn’t. If you’re looking for a 40th birthday present, you could buy, say, a 1984 Delord armagnac for £125.65 (from Brandy Classics, 40%), or you could go very large indeed and splash out nearly £5,000 on a bottle of Glenfarclas Winter Cask 1984 (Master of Malt, 47.1%).
I went to Armagnac in south-west France a few years ago, and was stunned by the quality of the spirits I found there. As Jerome Delord of the eponymous producer explained: “We have been sleeping on our laurels for too long.” Armagnac lives in the shadow of Cognac, its big brother to the north, which makes about 180m bottles a year compared with Armagnac’s 6m. Cognac is export-led and dominated by four big producers, whereas half of all armagnac produced is sold in France. It’s also made largely by farmers who might also keep cows, make wine and grow tobacco, whereas cognac is a monoculture: most cognac uses one grape variety, ugni blanc, whereas in an armagnac there are 10 varieties.
The other main difference is that most armagnac is single-distilled in a wood-fired alembic that looks a bit like a Heath Robinson device. It’s said that armagnac is fierier than cognac, and that can certainly be the case, but there are many Gascon brandies as smooth as anything from farther north.
The main thing about armagnac, however, is that it is on the whole absolutely delicious, and has big, fruity flavours that are impossible to dislike. Even my mother, who doesn’t really touch spirits, enjoys a little drop every now and then. At the moment, armagnac is the biggest bargain in spirits, so get hold of some before the bourbon bros finally wake up and start snaffling it all up.
Four armagnacs to suit every budget – plus two to blow the bank
Waitrose No 1 Armagnac VSOP £27.50, 40%. With flavours of peach and muscovado sugar, this is great for mixing – try it in a brandy and soda or a sidecar.
Château de Tariquet Bas-Armagnac XO £37 Waitrose, 40%. Big, spicy and bursting with tobacco, chilli and toffee notes. Would appeal to lovers of Islay whisky.
Laballe Bas Armagnac Resistance £47.95 The Whisky Exchange, 43%. Made from 100% baco, a hybrid grape unique to the region, this is spice city: think liquorice, cloves, cardamom and vanilla.
Sempé 18-Year-Old Bas Armagnac £56.95 Master of Malt, 40%. From a house that dates back to 1934, this is dry and full-bodied, with notes of menthol, orange peel and toffee.
Castarede 1979 Bas Armagnac £97.95 The Whisky Exchange, 40%. Rich and, intensely flavoured, with a smell of cooked apples and old leather. Take a sip and your mouth will explode, and burst with bitter apricot, leather and dark chocolate.
Darroze Les Grands Assemblages 30-Year-Old Armagnac £116 The Whisky Exchange, 43%. Or really push the boat out on one of the most beautiful spirits I have ever tried: a symphony in fruit and wood, and worth every penny.
