France
As its name suggests, armagnac comes from the Armagnac region in Gascony, south-west France. It is the oldest spirit distilled in France and, as was common with many other spirits, was consumed for its therapeutic benefits. Today, of course, one enjoys this single-distilled fragrant and flavourful spirit for its bold aromas and flavours. Armagnac production is relatively small (as compared to cognac, for example) and much of it is traditionally consumed domestically. The house of Darroze, however, is trying to change that.
For several generations now, the Darroze family has scoured Gascony in the grands crus centre of the Bas Armagnac region, accumulating a vast stock of armagnac. This diversity in crus, vintages, grape varieties and styles forms the basis of the house’s Les Grands Assemblages (The Great Blends) blends of aged armagnacs. Chosen for their complementary characteristics, the age indication on each bottle refers to the youngest armagnac in the blend.
Darroze’s cellars also holds armagnacs from more than 30 different estates located in various parts of Bas-Armagnac, one of the three districts in the region where grapes for the distillation of the armagnac eaux-de-vie can be cultivated. These single vintage armagnacs make up the house’s Unique Collection, which are aged a minimum of 15 years and highlights each estate’s unique characteristics. On the label you will find the estate’s name, vintage and the bottling date that gives its real age (eaux-de-vie stop aging once bottled), each an encapsulation of a single terroir and year.
Australia
An incarnation of a distillery that was first built more than a century ago, Twenty Third Street Distillery (it gets its name from its location in Renmark, a town in South Australia’s rural Riverland area) fuses the abundance of its locality – Renmark is famous for the cultivation of grapes and citrus fruits – with ingenuity to produce craft spirits that are both inventive and contemporary, and underlined by tradition.
The distillery’s Signature Gin, for example, is spicy and citrusy from fresh local mandarin and lime, while the cane-based Riverland Rose Vodka is delicately pink from the sweet, yet bold nosed and Valentine-red Mr Lincoln petals, gathered from the Riverland’s iconic Rustons Roses. The Hybrid Whisk(e)y is an intriguing blend of scotch whisky and bourbon whiskey, whereas Not Your Nanna’s Brandy has been aged for two years in a mix of French and American oak barrels, mostly ex-chardonnay. For a final touch of community pride, the art work on the bottles are produced by local artists.
23rdstreetdistillery.com.au
Footnote: Darroze and Twenty Third Street Distillery is distributed in Malaysia by Cave & Cellar (603-7845 0670)
