{"product_id":"benditlikebrandy-60998","title":"BendItLikeBrandy","description":"\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;When it comes to talk of \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;Brandy\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;, Cognac usually gets top billing. And don’t get us wrong — it’s \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;damn good stuff\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;. But it’s far from the \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;only game in town\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;In fact, if you point your coordinates to Gascony, you’ll be rewarded with Cognac’s older, less-demanding cousin \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;Armagnac\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;, which predates Cognac by a good\u0026lt;em\u0026gt; 200 years\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;. It also isn’t as much of a stickler for the grapes, stills and barrels it uses in the production process, which gives it some \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;kicky variation\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt; that’ll keep your palate guessing.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;The Spanish also have some skin in the game, using American oak barrels and the \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;solera aging method \u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;to produce their sweet and smooth \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;Brandy de Jerez\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;. And not to be outdone, our Armenian friends — who’ve been producing Brandy since the \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;12th century\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt; — double-distill their juice in oak casks and was once the favored tipple of Russian czars.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;In this box, we’ve lined up a \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;powerhouse tasting \u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;of\u0026lt;em\u0026gt; all three\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;: the well-rounded and fruit-forward \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;Domaine Tariquet Bas-Armagnac XO\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;, the smooth and seductive \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;Cardenal Mendoza Carta Real\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt; from Spain and the thrilling spice of \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;Shakmat 23 YO\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;, an Armenian Brandy.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;Instead of turning to Cognac, take a cue from Beckham and bend it… \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;toward a bottle of Brandy\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;. Cheers!\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;Smartass Corner:\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;1) In general, Brandy means any kind of distilled spirit made from \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;fermented fruit juice\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;. While the fruit is typically grapes, there are a number of Brandies made from\u0026lt;em\u0026gt; apples\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;, \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;pears\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt; and \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;other sweet fruits\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;2) The \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;Spaniards\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt; are second only to the people of the Cognac region in the \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;quantity\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt; of Brandy they make, and they drink\u0026lt;em\u0026gt; far more\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt; of their own Brandy than the French in Cognac do.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;3) With the exception of a few producers, Armagnac is distilled in an \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;alembic continuous still\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt; (Cognac uses copper stills). And that matters — because of its distillation method, Armagnac is \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;typically aged longer \u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;than Cognac, usually upwards of 10 years.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;4) You can have your booze and eat it, too. Yep, Brandy is often used as a cooking wine, and can be added to savory or sweet sauces, as well as desserts, for a rich, fruity punch.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;5) \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;Nikolay Shustov\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;, an Armenian Brandy producer who supplied the spirit to Russian Tsar Nicholas II’s court, was briefly given the\u0026lt;em\u0026gt; permission\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt; to label his\u0026lt;em\u0026gt; Brandy as Cognac\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;. His company eventually became the \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;Yerevan Brandy Company\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;, the\u0026lt;em\u0026gt; largest \u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;Brandy producer in Armenia.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;6) It’s said that \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;Augustine monks\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt; hung Brandy barrels around the necks of St. Bernard rescue dogs to \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;revive frostbitten travelers\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt; in the Swiss Alps. Talk about a ‘ruff’ job.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;7) \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;“The most sensible thing to do to people you hate is to drink their Brandy.”\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt; – \u0026lt;em\u0026gt;Elizabeth Taylor\u0026lt;\/em\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45135690072246,"sku":"60998","price":11.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0727\/1251\/9862\/files\/benditlikebrandy_60998_01_04cc119d_82bc8af4-eb46-4ff4-96dc-57294500a209.jpg?v=1779276797","url":"https:\/\/noblebottle.com\/products\/benditlikebrandy-60998","provider":"noblebottle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}