France – Day 5: Its Own Reward

Being an avid Armagnac fan isn't always easy. Sure, it's ridiculously inexpensive for what it is, the quality is as high as it's ever been, you can buy most products straight from the producer, and there's a backstock of old vintages dating back to the 19th century – those are all good things. However, most wine and spirits retailers carry a only basic selection and very few offer the brandy geek with the depth and scope he's looking for. Compared to Scotch or Bourbon, there are few customer resources on the internet. There is no industry magazine, no real blog scene, no dedicated online forum, no Facebook page, and little to no advertising. 

And if you are a collector or an Armagnac aficionado, who's going to care? Who are you going to discuss your purchases with? Who are you going to rant to when your bottle of 1972 Pellehaut doesn't taste as good as the 1985 did? Who's going to look at your Instagram page and be impressed by it when you post a photo of that 1961 Boingneres you tasted last night?

No one. No thumbs up for you.

Being an Armagnac drinker requires dedication to the spirit itself, rather than one's own perception. There's nothing cool about it. There are no celebrity distillers, cult followings, or limited edition releases. There are no egos with Armagnac drinkers because there's nothing you can do to stroke it.

Drinking it is its own reward.

-David Driscoll