Bhakta 1973 Armagnac

Armagnac is the oldest French spirit – a product that has ancient distilling traditions that date all the way back to Medieval times. It may be considered an ‘old spirit’ but nowadays, the #1 Spirit in the world according to Paul Pacult and his 2023 Ultimate Spirits Challenge is once again an Armagnac. This time its the 1973 Armagnac from Raj Bhakta. Thousands of spirits were rated in the challenge, but the Bhakta 1973 was the ‘Best in Show’

Bhakta is the luxury spirit brand started by the former co-founder of Whistle Pig, Raj Bhakta. It’s the sole owner and steward of the oldest collection of vintage spirits on earth, with library releases that date back to 1868.

BHAKTA 1973 Armagnac is a “Golden Anniversary” expression considered among the house’s finest 20th century vintages. ’73 was condered a landmark vintage, and is now more than 50 years past the release. It may be an expensive bottling, but considering it has the #1 title for the year and can be had at a fraction of the cost of other 50 year-old Cognacs and Scotches that don’t even begin to compare.

This one was distilled in 1973 from the grapes Ugni Blanc and Baco and harvested in the region of Armagnac. It was aged 50 years and bottled at 107.8 Proof. It’s utterly magnificent and incredibly rare. I only have a few bottles to go round.