Armagnac

Armagnac, the region of France, has given its name to its distinctive kind of brandy or eau de vie, made of the same grapes as Cognac and undergoing the same aging in oak barrels, but with column still distillation. Armagnac production is overseen by a Bureau National Interprofessionel de l'Armagnac (BNIA).

Armagnac is the only true rival to Cognac for recognition as the finest producer of brandy in the world. Along with Cognac and Jerez in Spain, it is one of only three officially demarcated brandy regions in Europe.

Its quantity of production is significantly lower than that of the Cognac region; for every six bottles of Armagnac sold around the world there are one hundred bottles of cognac sold.

Armagnac has been making brandy for around 200 years longer than Cognac.