EP 840 Armagnac – The Oldest Spirit In The World

Gary sits down with Denis Lesgourgues from the Armagnac house Chateau de Laubade. Denis shares some serious knowledge about this spirit from Southwestern France and taste through 3 different Armagnacs.

Wines tasted in this episode:

Chateau De Laubade XO Armagnac
1974 Chateau De Laubade Armagnac
Chateau De Laubade Armagnac Extra

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lev isl

1959 armagnac laubade for sale andmore high end liqur email ffor my # lev818isk@gmail.com

Tags: Armagnac, review, Spirit, Video

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  • sawineguy

    Gary,
    This show was one of your best. The key was to find a cohort in the business, and hopefully at least second generation. This guest was absolutely great. thing of how many second or third generation winemakers/spiritmakers with some charisma and knowhow are out there for you to interview. I absolutely loved this show. I definitely learned something new from an insider. Thank you so much for a wonderful show. Keep up the phenmnal work.

  • Sawineguy

    Gary,
    This show was one of your best. The key was to find a cohort in the business, and hopefully at least second generation. This guest was absolutely great. Think of how many second or third generation winemakers/spiritmakers with some charisma and knowhow are out there for you to interview. I absolutely loved this show. I definitely learned something new from an insider. Thank you so much for a wonderful show. Keep up the phenomnal work.

  • Amy

    Thanks for the diversity and for covering Armagnac on your great show.

    QOTD: Use a young or Blanche Armagnac instead of rum in a LT Blender Mojito in a Bag mix for a fantastic cocktail experience 🙂 Yum!!!

  • Allan

    Super show G! This was like going back to school… very educational. And great guest.
    Your intreview skills are on the up Gary, Good job!

    Qotd: ? have never had an Armagnac…… yet!

  • lawrenceleichtman

    I have had a sidecar made with Armagnac. It is mostly Cointreau and Cognac or Armagnac. I am still confused about vintages etc. with any spirit. I have distilled alcohol from many different bases including wine and fruit juices at least in legal small batches and everything seems to depend on what you do with the neutral spirit afterward such as aging in oak barrels or filtering through charcoal etc. So why vintages and what difference does it make where the neutral spirit comes from, isn't it still going to be neutral even if distilled from wine? Seems you would lose whatever the essence was in the first place.

  • esj1000

    I love Armagnac, it is a shame that it is so expensive. It always see it as a drink of the workers along with Calvados and Marc. It also makes excellent presents as you can pick up old vintages for less money than a Bordeaux.

  • JiminAtlanta

    This was a long, but interesting episode. I have not had an armagnac and knew nothing about it. Thanks for educating us about another interesting drink. I will do some research to see where I can get some and if I can afford a bottle.

  • rieslingrich

    Yes Gary Stuck through the entire show, no problem!! Will be looking for some
    Armagnac soon in the So Cal

  • heathermcneil

    F—-ing SPECTACULAR! Seriously…so amazing! I will be making cocktails and following up. I will also be serving ice cream and Armagnac at my next bed picnic! Foie gras, dark chocolate, “Roaring 40's”…this show was a (I hate the word foodie) dream for the culinary obsessed! Bonus: Is there anything better than a French accent? I'm dying over here!

  • payson07

    never heard of armagnac till now & tempted to go grab some off the shelf. great episode, love the french!

  • Peter

    Turbo episode, great content, learned tons and the guest was very articulate and entertaining. Let's work on that Armagnac cocktail!!

  • Don D

    Yes, let's have more shows like that, CHEERS!!

  • Mike in C-town

    Very intriguing show. I learned a lot and teh interaction was quite lively.
    A show like this is nice when surrounded by the short format shows.
    I'd seen Armagnac while wandering through the old Sam's in Chicago. I was curious, but the price points ran me off. Too $ rich for something I knew nothing about or had not tried before.
    More likely to try it now, but probably by the glass – straight.

  • Waiterboy

    Great show, I've thought that Armagnac are undervalued for the goods that they deliver. So thanks for the knowledge drop. A cocktail to a challenge that is worth everyone one taking. I'm thinking of licor 43, creme de cassis, and citrus bitter of some kind and if I can balance the oils then throwing in Nocino della Cristina (Walnut Liqueur.) I'll let you know if it works out.

  • jskinder

    That was friggin' awesome. I'm a big scotch drinker but have always been curious about other distilled spirits, especially armagnac and cognac. This was really really informative and was very engaging!

  • nice man

    nice work

  • Shaun Q

    Excellent Show! Thank you! Pls do more on spirits!

  • Lucio Ferreira

    Fantastic Episode!!! Monsieur Lesgourgues definitely knows how to sell his product. Cognac better watch out. Congratulations…

  • Weston3220

    qotd: I have always wanted to try Armagnac all the notes i have read, it seems like it can be so different from Cognac [which Im not the biggest fan of, I love Scotch]

  • missatiejacket

    great episode, great guest, great interview!

    I like that you took on this theme and I really liked learning so much about Armagnac. I have never tried any Armagnac, alone or in a cocktail. I will have to seek some out. From what I have read, I am not sure I'll be able to get past the heat and the “roughness” of it to enjoy the subtleties, but I hope I will.

  • Jean-Baptiste

    Fantastic! Chateau de Laubade is an amazing house and they have a lot of treasuries in their cellar.. for ongoing hedonism!!

  • Finally got around to watching this episode, really engaging guest I'm intrigued, because I love scotch and cognac!

    QOTD: I'm not sure I could force myself to make a cocktail with Armagnac reminds me too much of the wine slushies they sell at wine festivals gack!

  • JayZee13

    Amazing show – I really enjoyed the education on Armagnac. Like you said, I've had single malt Scotches, I've had Cognacs, but I think I may have only had one Armagnac over the years. Great guest, too! Denis was very engaging and interesting and very passionate about his family's business and about Armagnac in general.

    QOTD: Sorry, I don't have any Armagnac cocktail recipes, but I'd love to try one some time.

  • Nice show, always interesting to do something new. The only big issue that I see as a single malt fan, is the price. Its hard for me to dish out that kind of money when you can get a great scotch for that price.

    QOTD: Haven't had an Armagnac before, will have to change that.

  • Great Show… love learning about items we see so little of here on the West Coast of Canada. Greatly looking forward to SA Chenin show as I was just down there on a buying trip and came a cross some killer examples that would be far cheaper in the US than here.

  • Richie

    Loved all the great information. Just seemed that on occasion got off topic and never came back to answer the question. Come on Gray let the guest do his thing. All in all go info.Hope to see more shows on spirits like the Mezcal and Absinthe episodes and of coarse this one.

  • BrianaMarie

    this is why i love your show! im a geek who is always looking to learn about something new. not only learning about armagnac, but also cognac, and a little history…all provided by a charming and clearly knowledgeable man.

  • QOTD: Wow to the question, can't say I ever thought of that but will look through the comments hoping for recipes.

    GREAT show, thank you both.

  • With duck, the British call it Armagnquack.
    Seriously, a great show. Lots of good information. Let's all go to Gascony!

  • jim

    Please stop interrupting your guests. We know – you are a very smart guy – you don't have to try and prove it all of the time. Go back and count the times your guest is talking and you interrupt. Don't you have a friend good or brave enough to tell you?

  • blair

    bad ass show. loved the guest. you both interrupt eachother well. i still have yet to try armagnac. i really dont like congnac at all so im apprehensive. as soon as i give a $350 bottle a taste ill post more. thanks again gary.

  • dariakushmelyn

    I really loved this episode. Very engaging guest, I really learned something. I haven't tried Armagnac yet but I now intend to. My father was a big Brandy and Cognac lover, so we were exposed to those, but not to Armagnac. The food pairings you and Denis suggested made me want to fly right to Gascony and get to it all. One of your best, smartest episodes.

  • dariakushmelyn

    Gary's not trying to prove anything, he's just exploding with enthusiasm. And just so you know, he gets told about this all the time, no bravery required. He's a good guy.

  • dariakushmelyn

    He's done Absinthe, take a look in the old episodes. It was last year? Also very interesting, but this one on Armagnac is one of the bets of the kind. But I agree with you, I'd like to see MORE of these.

  • Abi

    Judging by the fun they are having, I think we should all take up drinking armagnac

  • doctalo

    OK, fine, no more lurking!

    Great show Gary, I really enjoy the shows where you have guests as I do tend learn a lot. I liked listening to Denis as much as I enjoyed listening to that gentleman from the Brooklyn Brewery (his name escapes me right now).

  • richardvinifera

    QOTD: Classic cocktail with Cognac is the Sidecar, so i'd like to try one with other aged eaux de vie!

  • sasha14

    Lurker here…posting for the first time. You have shamed me into commenting, Gary…so here I am. I had never really heard of Armagnac before watching this episode. But you and Denis have made me want to try it the next time I go out for a fancy dinner. I'm thinking of having a glass with a meal of duck and dessert of dark chocolate mousse at my favorite French restaurant, which I am sure carries a stock of Armagnac. (They would definitely suck if they didn't.) I really enjoy the episodes you do on spirits. Loved the episode on scotch (Laphroaig rocks, I completely agree…how can you not like the peat?). Keep the spirits episodes coming. Please, please, please: DO ONE ON BOURBON. There's some amazing stuff out there, and you should really explore it. JUST DO IT!!!

  • njart001

    I loved this show , I didn't know anything about the suject, thank you Gary you have taught my girlfriend and I so much.

  • jayhitek

    QOTD: I have never thought of doing that.

  • John_Kenneth_J

    qotd I haven't, seems like a really interesting idea though.

    Great guest, loved hearing about Armagnac, you don't hear enough about it

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  • Sweet Reverend

    Thank you SO MUCH for this video. I have been wondering about Armagnac and now I am definitely going to give it a try.

  • ben from boston

    Cant believe i missed this, thats what i get for not keeping up all the time. so excited to watch this. so excited.

  • ben from boston

    wow, so dense with information. I may have to re-watch this a few more times.

    funny that you guys mentioned the crossover between single malts and armagnac, I made the switch this past summer.

    qotd – no, im a straight, no ice, no chaser kind of guy. I’m sure it would work very well for those that like cocktails though.

  • Anonymous

    Enjoy a Cognac now and then but due to the $ stay away from them. QOTD-nope http://www.winelx.com

  • Timothy Peierls

    Just got a 1961 vintage Chateau de Laubade, and this episode got me very excited about opening it next week — at a dinner celebrating some 50th birthdays (including mine!).

    Sorry to hear that 1961 was not one of the great years for Armagnac, but I’m hoping it’ll be good anyway.

  • luca bercelli

    90/100

    line of the day – ‘Maybe I should insure MY nose’

    Very educational and enjoyable episode

  • lev isl

    1959 armagnac laubade for sale andmore high end liqur email ffor my # lev818isk@gmail.com

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