Armagnac, The Thinking Woman's Brandy

March is a month that celebrates women, with International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day well established in the worldwide calendar.  Jane McQuitty has been writing in The Times about the relationship between women and armagnac.  Not dissimilar to cognac, armagnac is made on a continuous column still and its lower distillation range, of between 52 – 72 % ab, allows a greater fruitiness in the spirit, although sometimes at the expense of refinement.  She heralds the many female armagnac producers including our very good friend Florence Castarede, the sixth generation of her family to produce the very fine Castarede Bas Armagnac.  The article also quotes another friend of ours, Amanda Garnham, who lived and worked in the Armagnac region for decades.  Amanda said that “Armagnac is the thinking woman’s brandy ”.   An interesting analogy that might refer to someone you know!

So, if you are still looking for a Mother’s Day gift, take a look at all the wonderful armagnacs we have to offer.  Many are vintages, labelled with the year they were harvested and come from the top cru, Bas Armagnac.