i’ve read ARARAT brand brandy (from the yerevan brandy co.) is tasty and a good value.
has anyone SEEN this around town?
yes, i know where i COULD look for such a thing, and i know i’m being a dick, but
has anyone actually seen it for sale (not that it’s rare) anywhere in l.a., burbank, glendale, etc.?
a little early in the day, but taking one for the team…
i bought the seven year for around 23 bucks, which seems a steal for something that age.
it’s very smooth – only eighty proof – and a little sweet but pretty darn good for that price. even
though this is seven years old, i think it would be better in cocktails than alone, but then again,
it might go just fine with your post prandial cigar or with a little water or soda to sip all day.
it does have a touch of complexity about it.
i’d say its a good value.
i’ve been drinking armagnac in the brandy realm the past few years, so this is much less
dry and less…spicy.
Armenian here. I mainly drink Armagnac when I want a brandy. It’s basically common knowledge that there’s no real deal Armenian brandy on the market so nobody buys it. Every Armenian I know either has it brought over from the motherland or drinks Hennessy here.
Our brandies are a thing of beauty but the distro is rife with counterfeit supply and fake labels.
thanks for the update. i’m on k and l’s list for stuff like that but i appreciate it.
nemroz:
wow, you learn something new every day. sad to hear. i hope you’ll let the board know
if there’s any “real deal” armenian stuff for sale around these parts.
it’s crazy… anyone I talk to says the same thing… i have to talk to some Armenian liquor store owners… that’s our only hope… i really love our brandies… they’re crazy fruity
the Booze Traveler - Armenia episode was fascinating for me
Interesting. That’s serious fraud. Do you have any proof about that? It’s hard to imagine that a small retail chain like Jon’s would have the capacity or criminal will to do such a thing. On a side note, I have an indelible image of the bartender at Empress Pavilion a few years ago pouring Smirnoff into a mostly empty bottle of a much pricier vodka. Did it in plain site of anyone who cared to watch.
I don’t know if that’s serious fraud. To say something is great and aged and then to deliver something that’s not great and not aged. What kind of laws are there against that?
The % of bars who do what you described is ridiculously high.
It’s not Jon’s thats doing it, though they are buying the product. There are uhm ‘private organizations’ based in Hollywood and Glendale who traffic in such things. As far as proof…