1936 Shaking in the 60's by Eddie Clarke

merchants in this country. This Armagnac, I hasten to add, is guaranteed to have spent forty years in cask and to be over fifty years old. I can think ofno more satisfactory way of spending 55s. I have met many devotees of Armagnac who are convinced that this eau-de-vie, stored for years in black oak casks made from trees of the region, is supreme. The Armagnac district is situated about too miles south east ofBordeaux. To tidy up the rest of the Brandy picture, France also produces it in districts other than those of Cognac and Armagnac. Marc de Bourgogne, for instance, has its admirers.This Brandy is made by distilling a wine produced from the"marc"or pulp left in the presses after the "must" has been drawn off. It has a distinctive flavour and may become popular, particularly as the price is some 5s. a bottle cheaper than a three star Cognac. Australia, Cyprus, Germany, Israel, Italy, Portugal, South Africa and Spain are the other principal producers and exporters. No attempt is made here to record them in order of merit, purely alphabetical. Not being fully con vinced that I have drunk the best that these countries produce,it would be both unfair and unwise to putforward any one ofthem as being superior to the rest. Their selling prices are generally considerably lower than those ofCognac and Armagnac, which fact alone makes them an attractive proposition to many. It may bear repetition that Cognac, Armagnac and Brandy mature in cask and undergo no improvement after bottling.

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