I tried 20 years aged Ararat brandy in Armenia and it had made me a convert

Just about the only experience I’ve ever had with brandy in my life came when I snuck some booze from a bottle in my dad’s cabinet to take with me to a house party as a teenager. The brutal burn as I took the first sip and found myself hacking up my lungs straight after.

This was back when beer still tasted overwhelming for my blossoming pallet. So perhaps diving in the deep end that was distilled alcohol was a tad ambitious, to say the least – but what is adolescence for if not making mistakes to learn from.

It was such a sharp introduction to brandy that I had pretty much sworn off it for 15 years after that. Finding myself drawn more to a glass of gin when it came to harder liquors – or maybe port if I was feeling extra fancy, but definitely not jagermeister. Never again.

But after taking a trip to the Ararat museum in Armenia and sampling some legit, properly aged glasses of brandy – I might just be a convert. Let’s see if I can convince you!

As part of my trip to Yerevan in Armenia for the World Congress on Innovation and Technology and DigiTec Expo, they took us on a few outings around the city. It included a guided tour of the Ararat museum which towers above the Armenian capital like, well Mount Ararat itself.

After my brief past experiences with brandy, I can’t say I was jumping for joy – but I do love a good museum, so I was hoping for a cool way to pass a couple of hours. And stepping into the building, my mind instantly flashed back to my first contact with brandy as the overwhelming smell of the liquor wrapped its tendrils around my nostril.

It was just fleeting, but it did make me fear the worst. But quickly after our brilliant guide started the tour and all that faded from my memory.

They take you around and show you how the barrels used to age the brandy are made, where they source the grapes and more. However we were lucky enough to venture down into the Ararat vault, where they keep wines that are decades (even a century) old.

Our guide even showed off a bottle that was brewed under the name cognac, before it became a protected brand early on in the 20th century.

But perhaps the highlight of the tour (before the tasting of course) was when we stopped to try and guess the brandy ingredient just by scent alone. After the first two people went up and nailed it, I took a go and picked the “Armenian ingredient” and it went about as badly as you may expect.

The ingredient in question was dried apricot, which does not exactly have the most pungent of aromas. Yet it was a fun moment of interactivity that proved extremely memorable.

Now though, it was for the star of the show – the tasting. My expectations were low, but I tried to keep an open mind.

First: 10-year-old Brandy

Take a slip of the first of three glasses of Brandy, I was hit by that familiar burn. It once again took me back to my prior experience, but then as the burning started to mellow – I found myself thinking. Okay, alright, this isn’t bad you know.

Second: 15-year-old Brandy

For the second glass, we jumped another half a decade to a 15-year-aged Ararat offering. Unlike the first sip of the 10-year-old liquor, it did not burn instantly and went down rather smoothly.

We had a little bowl of chocolates and I tried combining the flavors. Letting the dark chip melt on tongue before taking a second sip – and let me tell you: what a flavor combo.

I suddenly felt the thought bubbling in my subconsciousness: “Do I like brandy?” I can’t say I expected this twist to come, but halfway through the tasting it was starting to take hold.

Third: 20-year-old Brandy

This was the drink that cemented in my mind that I may have been converted to the ranks of Brandy enjoyer. It was just about the smoothest, easy-to-drink glass of hard liquor (as our friends across the pond would say), I’ve ever had.

No need for a mixer or anything to dilute it, just this glass and a sudden urge to buy a pocket watch and/ or deerstalker hat. It was so sophisticated, rich body and so many notes you’d think a conductor was sitting in the glass.

I never expected that 2024 would be the year I came to enjoy drinking brandy. But the aged spirits from Ararat in Armenia, might just have converted me.