When Googling armagnac, the headlines read something like ʻBrandy’s best-kept secret’. But this has been the narrative for decades – nothing has ever changed. Armagnac is objectively a quality spirit with a rich history and its approach to vintages gives it a unique selling point that other brandies don’t have. Yet, armagnac’s fortunes have never really changed and, taking a wider look at the category, one of the reasons is a lack of engagement with the on-trade.
Armagnac has always been compared to cognac – like tequila and mezcal. Sure they’re different, but aft er all they’re both French brandies from designations just 200km apart and share three grape varieties (Colombard, Ugni Blanc and Folle Blanche). In terms of production, most armagnac is distilled once in column stills while cognac puts its wine through a pot still twice. That’s a generalisation, but the point remains they have their differences despite being very similar. Yet, a quick search on The Whisky Exchange shows a bottle of Rémy Martin XO, one of the most recognised cognac bottles on the market, goes for more than £180 while Janneau XO, the armagnac equivalent, fetches less than half that.
This should be a great advantage to armagnac, but having spoken to bartenders and on-trade distributors in London and Singapore, a recurring theme was that armagnac was considered expensive, even overpriced. It’s true that £80 for a bottle of Janneau XO sounds a lot, but if they knew the youngest spirit was 10 years old and contained eaux de vie older than 30, the perception may be different.
This exposes a basic lack of understanding of armagnac in some of the most developed on-trade markets in the world. Hannah Lanfear, established spirits educator and communicator, believes much of the marketing is either non-existent or left to importers, or “just a bit out of step with current tastes”. Speaking on behalf of her home market in the UK, she blames the lack of education on poor distribution, citing that most brands use “niche wine suppliers” which list it as an afterthought to their existing portfolios.
Having reached out to the Bureau National Interprofessionnel de l’Armagnac (BNIA), the organisation is working on a cocktail competition to take place during the catering and hospitality trade show Horesta in Biarritz next year. The governing body also plans to launch a national cocktail competition for bartending students across the south west of France in 2025 before taking it national.
It’s true that armagnac isn’t appreciated domestically, with the French remaining big consumers of Scotch and rum, so it makes sense to be targeting its home market. However more could be done, especially overseas.
Cocktail focus
On a brand level there are some producers more tuned in than others. Bordeneuve Château & Collections, based in the Gers region of Armagnac, has pushed its eaux de vie in mixed drinks for a while.
“We actually did some work with bartenders a few years ago to put together a few cocktails with armagnac and our derivative products, such as La Grande Josiane Armagnac-Orange liqueur, La Blanche and La Blanche au Citron. Possibly slightly ahead of armagnac's market positioning at that time, this gave us a collection of recipes to share with partners and clients,” says Jérôme Castledine, commercial and communications director.
“We will be focusing even more on cocktails with clients this year. Basically, with one bottle of VS and one bottle of La Blanche, you can effectively replace all other spirits used in classic cocktail recipes. I have also been working with our UK partner, Marussia Beverages, which recognises the place that cocktails are taking in the armagnac market and the need to appeal to bartenders.
“I am hoping we will be able to keep developing this and increase the range of available cocktail-oriented products from our collections, notably La Blanche and La Blanche au Citron. They have already added La Grande Josiane, which has a growing market share and is spreading out from the London scene.” It’s clear armagnac can be the base of a great drink. On Difford’s Guide, Bastille is a cocktail made with armagnac, Lillet Blanc, Bénédictine and black walnut bitters. It has a five-star rating which demonstrates the spirit’s ability to hold up in a powerful drink. The next step for armagnac would be to create a modern classic, the holy grail for spirits categories with moderate sales volume. Cognac has the Sidecar, now armagnac needs something like the Bastille to take off.
The category needs similar ambition to Casteldine in order to infiltrate the top bars, especially in 2025 where pouring deals have such influence on cocktail listings. Drinks International’s Brands Report, which surveys the world’s best bars to find out which spirits are bestselling or trending, seldom features armagnac. Spanish brandy, cognac and even South African varieties take precedence. But for top bartenders to engage with the spirit, create great drinks and want to stock it in their bars, they need to visit the region and become fans, something which hasn’t happened nearly enough.
