10 best armagnacs to replace your favourite cognac

Janneau, with its familiar and traditional basquaise bottles, is the big name in armagnac production. It’s famed for using two types of distillation – single and double – and for producing armagnacs such as this, a VSOP (very superior old pale) that’s a blend of ugni blanc and baco grapes. Matured for up to 20 years in French oak, it supplies honeyed notes of plum and vanilla in a complex and multi-layered palate-pleasing experience.

Produced exclusively for Waitrose, here’s a VSOP armagnac that’s a blend of single and double distilled brandies, from the Bas-Armagnac and Ténarèze regions. Aged in French oak barrels for a minimum of four years, it displays all the flavour-heavy and robust fruit-led characteristics that set armagnac apart from its rival, cognac. At this price, it’s huge value.

A white, unaged armagnac bottled directly after distillation, which ODVI co-owners Gabriel and Simon see as the perfect introduction to armagnac for bartenders, cocktail lovers and conscientious customers. What the lack of ageing does is make the fruit flavours of the distilled grapes positively shine through. You could enjoy it as a simple digestif but it’s going to be more fun trying it as part of a cocktail. You’ll find plenty of recipes online.

This first-rate, amber-hued, 20-year-old armagnac comes from a small family company founded by Prosper Delord in 1893 – it’s carried on today by his grandsons, Jacques and Pierre, with the next generation, Jérôme sand Sylvain, waiting in the wings. This armagnac impresses with its glorious notes of brioche and vanilla and hints of prunes and spice. How much care the family takes is exemplified by the finished product. With its hand-written label, wax seal and basquaise bottle, it’s like taking a step into the past.

This is a VS (very special) or younger armagnac from the Guasch family, the owners of a vineyard that is dedicated exclusively to the production of Bas-Armagnac, using ugni blanc and baco grapes. Aged in oak barrels, this is a balanced and elegant armagnac, with all the characteristic notes of plum and vanilla you would expect, plus a smooth and creamy finish. All-round excellence at a price that’s very competitive.

An XO (extra old) armagnac that has been aged for longer than the statutory 10 years and is distilled from the folle blanche grape, which was the traditional grape for armagnac production until it was superseded by the more disease-resistant baco in the 20th century. So, this bottle offers a taste of traditional armagnac, with a rounded and full-bodied appeal, with apple and dried-fruit flavours mingling with those of prunes and toasted almonds.

Big honeyed notes of vanilla and dried fruit are tempered by hints of apricots and spice in this tempting tipple. As with most of the exceptional armagnac, Clés des Ducs (keys of the dukes) is another product of a small company that has been producing great brandies in a small village for well over a century. In this case, the village in question is Panjas (population 426). You can buy a bottle of Clés des Ducs’s earliest vintage, from 1888, for a mere £12,000 but, happily, this VSOP armagnac, aged for 10 years, is a little more affordable.

This is a great example of an XO armagnac from Château de Laubade – the premier armagnac single estate property in Gascony. Here, the organically grown ugni blanc, folle blanche, baco and colombard grapes are vinified separately, then single distilled, separately again in column stills before being aged in French oak from Gascony. The result? An immediate aroma of toasted brioche and citrus peel is reinforced by hints of spice and cinnamon.

From an armagnac house that is predominately a wine producer, comes a five-year-old option from the Ténarèze region. Lighter in appearance, the accustomed fruit flavours are more noticeably greengage than plum and are complemented by notes of spice and baked apple. Altogether, it’s smooth and fresh, with a clean finish.