Every year from the end of October to the end of January, the Flamme de l’Armagnac is carried round on foot and on horseback to symbolically light the stills of each distillery and herald the magical period of distillation. Unlike Cognac, which undergoes double distillation in a Charentaisstyle pot still, Armagnac typically undergoes only one distillation using a specific pure copper apparatus by the name of Alembic Armagnacais that was endorsed in 1818 by a stove maker in Auch.
It was then adapted, modified, and improved by the region’s distillers over the centuries. Small, sometimes mobile, and usually wood- or gas-fired, the continuous column still is quiet simply the coolest thing ever – and to us, the one and only way to distil Armagnac. It’s a walk down memory lane that allows the unique aromatic richness and character for which Armagnac is famous unfold.
Just like rock ’n’ roll, Armagnac is an attitude about life: maladjusted, passionate, unashamed, and soulful at the same time. Brazenly resisting the passage of time, this spirit remains not only the oldest, but also arguably the most authentic in the world. Armagnac is a very distinctive and seductive brandy.
We might have no sympathy for the devil, but we’d rather live in the memory motel than in a yellow submarine. And as with any band, quality requires continuity. Since 1955, there have only been three maîtres de chai who have ensured that the house’s savoir-faire in the production of Armagnacs has been passed down from generation to generation.
The Société Produits d’Armagnac, home of Marquis de Montesquiou and Comte de Lauvia, was founded in 1936 by Pierre de Montesquiou, a politically ambitious Armagnac merchant and co-founder of the Confrérie des Mousquetaires de l’Armagnac.
