I have learned that, besides whisky, there are many other drinks which are worthwhile tasting and drinking. As in the case of whisky, we are particularly interested in older or more unusual drinks. In order to keep things manageable we are limiting ourselves for now to Armagnac, Grappa and Brandy.

In the case of Armagnac you will mostly find Armagnacs which contain slightly more alcohol than normal. Coming from the whisky world these appeal to me more than the ones with 40%; to me they have more power and character. The Brandies are milder, but above all the older ones have a much more intense flavour that those from recent decades.

I learned to drink grappas thanks to a number of friends who gave me my first “drinkable grappa”. Prior to that I had only ever tried to drink grappas to round off the evening at an Italian restaurant, as you do. I favour old grappa which at the time was aged for longer in wood, or quality products from Bocchino or Villa Varda in particular. (I am open to being convinced by other top grappas, though).

Other items:
Naturally, over the years I have discovered a number of (in my opinion) fine older bottles. However, it is my sad duty to report that (unlike virtually everything else that is for sale in my shop) I have not drunk them all, so I do not know what they would taste like.