ARMENIAN BRANDY – THE FUEL OF DIPLOMACY
War on the Rocks
April 10 2015
Ruben Gzirian
April 10, 2015
On February 4, 1945 (almost exactly three months before VE Day),
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin convened
in Ukraine’s Livadia Palace to, for all intents and purposes, divvy
up soon-to-be post-war Europe. In addition to being a monumental
moment in world history, the Yalta Conference was also a bacchanalia
where three of the most powerful heads of state in history went on
a weeklong bender. True to form, the festivities were presided over
by none other than British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Of course, by 1945 Churchill’s inclination for a stiff drink was of no
surprise to anyone – Lord Richard Butler, a contemporary of Churchill,
wrote that on several occasions dinners with the prime minister were
“followed by libations of brandy so ample that I felt it prudent on
more than one occasion to tip the liquid into the side of my shoe.”
Churchill’s drinking was of such note during the conference that
Alexander Cadigan, an aide to Churchill, was quoted as saying that the
prime minister was “…drinking buckets of Caucasian champagne which
would undermine the health of any normal man.” The same report also
indicates that Churchill brought 500 cigars to a weeklong conference.
In short, this was not a man who lived mildly.
At the beginning of the Yalta Conference it was clear, based
on Stalin’s decision to serve 10-year-old Armenian Dvin brandy,
that Churchill’s predilections for booze (especially brandy) had
preceded him. Though no record of Churchill’s first sip of Dvin
brandy exists, the well-worn palette of the PM surely broke apart the
brandy’s complexity, starting with initial nuances of deep mahogany,
followed by a subtle aroma of cloves, layered notes of dried fruit,
and finished with bright tinges of spice derived from forest nuts.
Unconfirmed accounts after Yalta indicate that Churchill developed
such a taste for the elixir distilled by the Yerevan Brandy Company
that Stalin shipped the PM 400 bottles a year after WWII.
Understandably, Armenians are very proud of this story, but little
exists to suggest that it’s anything more than folklore.
However, that is not to say that Armenian brandy is not worthy of such
accolades. First distilled in Armenian in 1878 by Nerses Tairion,
Armenian brandy follows a distillation process similar to that of
Cognac’s Methode Charentaise – double pot distillation followed by
at least three years in Caucasian oak casks. Additionally, Armenian
brandy is also graded as Very Superior (VS); Very Superior Old Pale
(VSOP); and Extra Old (XO). In terms of aging requirements, Armenian
brandy has a minimum three-ageing process, whereas French cognac has
an industry average of four to five years. Although relatively similar
in terms of its distillation, Armenian brandy comes in “hotter” than
its French cousin. The brandy served at Yalta, Dvinis 100 proof (50%),
10% more alcoholic than French cognac.
The question remains: how much did Churchill actually enjoy the brandy
Stalin served at a meeting fated to partition post-war Europe? For
people of Armenian heritage, such as your author, the answer is
disappointing. Though it is true that Churchill developed a taste
for Armenian brandy during his time in Crimea, the lack of any kind
of historical record makes it highly unlikely that Churchill ordered
or received 400 bottles of Armenian Dvin brandy per year. In fact,
archival records suggest that not one bottle of brandy was ever sent
by Stalin to Churchill. Moreover, even if Churchill did secretly
acquire Armenian brandy through backchannels, it was by no means
his favorite. Actual historical accounts point to the fact that the
Prime Minister enjoyed a range of different high quality brandies,
such as l’Hertier de Jean Fremicourt and Prunier. Interestingly, the
brandy served most often at Chartwell, Churchill’s estate, was the
humble Hine VS, produced by Thomas Hine & Co., which today retails
for around $50 a bottle.
Regardless of the overwrought folklore attached to Armenian brandy, it
remains the country’s second-largest export, after the significantly
less drinkable copper concentrate. Moreover, Armenian brandy remains
at the center of European unification. In 2013, Armenia’s government
lobbied the European Union to allow it to continue marketing its
brandy as “cognac,” the name used to sell the product in many parts
of the former Soviet bloc. Unfortunately for Armenia, the European
delegation stated that “cognac” could only be used for brandies that
came from the French region of Cognac – no surprise there.
Did Armenian brandy oil the wheels at the Yalta Conference? Quite
possibly. It certainly made “the Riviera of Hades (as Churchill called
it)” more tolerable. Did Churchill become so infatuated with Dvin’s
taste (and high proof) that he ordered enormous quantities of it soon
thereafter? Most likely not. However, if you want to experience a
little bit of European history and a deep sense of bonhomie, order
a glass of Armenian brandy the next time you’re out. With glass in
hand, take a seat, close your eyes, take a sip, and imagine you’re
sitting at a Crimean bargaining table with a four-term U.S. president,
a high-functioning alcoholic, and a maniacal dictator. You’re one
step closer to solving the world’s greatest diplomatic problems.
Ruben Gzirian is a pursuer of fine whiskeys, with Michter’s US*1
American Whiskey currently his favorite. He holds an MA from the
Monterey Institute of International Studies and enjoys reading World
War II history, with a focus on the Eastern Front.