The only other Brandi to truly compete with Cognac when it comes to name recognition is Armagnac, from the French region which contributes to its name. In essence, it is basically the same product, and even made from the same grapes. With a different distilling technique, however, Armagnac differs, if ever so delicately, from its Champagne cousin.

As you can imagine, the alliance of cigars with the finest Armagnacs is as classic as that of Port or Sherry; and even so far as to drive some Chateaux to gear their distillation master pieces toward the realm of fine cigars.

A recent discovery of mine, which exemplifies this, is Chateau Tariquet, located in the Bas-Armagnac region. I had the chance to sample their “Le Legendaire”, and it was fantastic. They recommend that this be paired with a Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas but I had it with an Epicure No. 1 for what was a delightful alliance.

I can describe the “Legendaire” as lightly woody and spicy on the nose with some delicate vanilla and apricot notes. It is very well rounded and smooth on the palate going from initially sweet spicy notes toward more fruity notes—caramelized apples come to mind. It’s delicate balance of oak and fruit come together with sweet pepper notes toward the end for a very fine and elegant finish—it was a real treat folks.