Ararat (stylized as ArArAt) is a brand of Armenian brandy produced 10 years before the Yerevan Brandy Company was established (1877).[1][2] It is made from 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.
 | |
| Product type | Brandy |
|---|---|
| Owner | Pernod Ricard |
| Country | Armenia |
| Introduced | 1877 |
| Previous owners | Yerevan Brandy Company |
| Website | ybc |
Ararat brandy is primarily sold in countries of the former USSR, 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, romanized: armjanskij konjak). In 1900, the brandy won the Grand-prix award in Paris that allowed Ararat to legally call their brandy "cognac" until it was revoked after WWII.[3][4] The term "brandy" has never really caught on in the region.[1]
In politics
edit
An undocumented story claims that during the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill was so impressed with the Armenian brandy Dvin given to him by Joseph Stalin[5] that he asked for several cases of it to be sent to him each year.[6][7][8] Reportedly 400 bottles of Dvin were shipped to Churchill annually.[4][9] This brandy was named in honour of the ancient capital Dvin, and was first produced in 1943.[9]
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.[10]
Brands
edit- Ararat Erebuni, collection 30, 50 and 70 years old.
- Ararat Taste, collection Apricot, Cherry, Coffee and Honey.
- Ararat Nairi, 20 years old.
- Ararat, 3 and 5 years old.
- Ararat Akhtamar, 10 years old.
- Ararat Otborny, 7 years old.
- Ararat Ani, 7 years old.
- Ararat Dvin, 25 years old.
- Ararat Armenia, collection.
- Ararat Vaspurakan, 15 years old.
Retired brands include:
- Ararat Tonakan, 15 years old.
- Ararat Kilikia, 30 years old.
- Ararat Sparapet, 40 years old.
- Ararat Noah's Ark, 70 years old.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Vladimir Gendlin (2003). "Armenia. The cognac republic". Коммерсантъ. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Micallef, Joseph V. "Exploring The World Of Armenian Brandy". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
- ^ a b Cigar Clan Magazine, In the Steps of Churchill, Volume I 2004 Archived December 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Dockter, Warren (2015). "How to drink like Winston Churchill". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
- ^ Renton, Alex (7 July 2011). "Armenian brandy's Churchill boast". BBC News.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/790774.stm Armenian brandy demands respect
- ^ BBC: Spirited return for Armenian brandy, 8 June 2004
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Parfitt, Tom (10 May 2013). "David Cameron says 'real progress' made with Vladimir Putin over Syria". The Telegraph.
External links
edit- Pernod Ricard Armenia Archived 2018-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
- Yerevan Brandy Company
- Vinorium (UK) Ltd.