Ararat (brandy)

Ararat (stylized as ArArAt), is a brand of Armenian brandy (cognac-style) that has been produced by the Yerevan Brandy Company since 1887.[1] It is made from Armenian white grapes and spring water, according to a traditional method. The brand's "ordinary brandies" are aged between 3 and 6 years. Its "aged brandies" are between 10 and 30 years old.

ArArAt
Product typeBrandy
OwnerPernod Ricard
CountryArmenia
Introduced1887
Previous ownersYerevan Brandy Company
Websiteybc.am

Authors of a 2003 book wrote that it is "Undoubtedly the top of the tops of East European brandies."[2] Ararat brandy is primarily sold in countries of the former Soviet Union, chief among them Russia, Georgia, Ukraine and Belarus. In the Russian-speaking countries of the former Soviet Union, the Armenian brandy is marketed as cognac (Russian: армянский коньяк, tr. armjanskij konjak). In 1900, the brandy won the Grand-prix award in Paris.[3] The term "brandy" has never really caught on in the region.[1]

In politics
A bottle of ArArAt brandy

An undocumented anecdote claims that during the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill was so impressed with the Armenian brandy Dvin given to him by Joseph Stalin[4] that he asked for several cases of it to be sent to him each year.[5][6][7] Reportedly 400 bottles of Dvin were shipped to Churchill annually.[3][8] This brandy was named in honour of the ancient capital Dvin, and was first produced in 1943.[8]

During a 2013 meeting at his personal villa in Sochi, Russian president Vladimir Putin gave British Prime Minister David Cameron a bottle of Armenian brandy as a gift, recalling Stalin's offering to Churchill in 1945.[9]

Brands
  • ArArAt Erebuni, 30 years old.
  • ArArAt Nairi, 20 years old.
  • ArArAt, 3, 5 and 25 years old.
  • ArArAt Tonakan, 15 years old.
  • ArArAt Akhtamar, 10 years old.
  • ArArAt Otborny, 7 years old.
  • ArArAt Ani, 6 years old.
  • ArArAt Dvin, collection.
  • ArArAt Armenia, collection.

Retired brands include:

  • ArArAt Vaspurakan, 15 years old.
  • ArArAt Kilikia, 30 years old.
  • ArArAt Sparapet, 40 years old.
  • ArArAt Noah's Ark, 70 years old.

See also

References
  1. Vladimir Gendlin (2003). "Armenia. The cognac republic". Коммерсантъ. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
  2. Ermochkine, Nicholas; Iglikowski, Peter (2003). 40 Degrees East: An Anatomy of Vodka. Nova Publishers. p. 121. ISBN 9781590335949. Undoubtedly the top of the tops of East European brandies is the Armenian brandy called Ararat...
  3. Cigar Clan Magazine, In the Steps of Churchill, Volume I 2004 Archived December 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Dockter, Warren (2015). "How to drink like Winston Churchill". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  5. Renton, Alex (7 July 2011). "Armenian brandy's Churchill boast". BBC News.
  6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/790774.stm Armenian brandy demands respect
  7. BBC: Spirited return for Armenian brandy, 8 June 2004
  8. Prynn, Jonathan (23 March 2012). "First chance to buy brandy that Stalin served Churchill". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 6 March 2015. Sir Winston Churchill's favourite Armenian brandy... The brandy, which was also a favourite of Agatha Christie and Frank Sinatra, has been made in the Ararat Valley since 1877.
  9. Parfitt, Tom (10 May 2013). "David Cameron says 'real progress' made with Vladimir Putin over Syria". The Telegraph.
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