Let's have a drink! A visit to the Yerevan Noy brandy factory.

Armenia is famous for its brandy. Allegedly, Churchill was a huge fan, to the point that he received regular shipments by Stalin. History tells of a time when Churchill noticed a slight decrease in the brandy quality. Stalin investigated and discovered that Margar Sedrakyan, the man behind the blend had been exiled by the Communist Party. Stalin, being who he was, ordered to set him free, to reinstate in his position of chief technologist of the factory and to give him back the party ticket.

Everything seemed rather interesting, so me and Mariam decided to visit the factory, which is built where the former Yerevan fortress was. The tour itself was half-interesting half-boring. The latter was undoubtedly helped by the tour guide being one of the hugest scope in culo ("a bit stiff" for anglophones) I've seen in my life. Anyway, the tour included a tasting, so me and Mariam patiently waited, looking at the memorabilia.

When we went into the cellars, things started to be a bit more interesting. The smell was really strong, and I'm pretty sure you can get drunk just by staying there too long. There were huge barrels everywhere, divided by tonnage, age, etc. Some metal poles put against the lid, in order to compensate inner pressure.

We were shown a secret passage, not used anymore, which extended for 9 kilometers beneath Yerevan, it reaches the American embassy and, if I remember well, it was also used to bring grapes to the factory without exposing them to the sun. It is now closed after 1 kilometer.

After the cellar we went to the tasting area. Here the ceremony was... interesting, if a bit bordering obsession. Here is how it works.

1. You pour the brandy in the apposite glass. It is almost spherical and the amount should be just enough to allow you to put the glass sideways and not having it pour out. Once you straighten the glass again, drops will slide toward the center of the glass. 20 seconds for a 20 years brandy and 10 seconds for a 10 years one.
2. You take the glass with your left hand, which is the one closest to the heart. This goes against all traditional views of the left hand, by the way (where's the Devil, now? IN THE BRANDY) and gently shake it, to allow a bit of evaporation. The alcohol that evaporates is called angel's tears. Why not?
3. From 30 cm of distance, moving the other hand in order to push aromas towards you, the smell should be of oak. From 20 cm it should be of chocolate and close to your nose you finally smell the alcohol. By this time I really need to check the time, what if I have something on the fire? What if my plane is leaving?
4. Now you can actually drink it! In Armenia brandy is usually drank with fruit, chocolate or cigars. We had both the first two at the table. I preferred the 10 years brandy, but both were quite stunning - especially as I hadn't had lunch yet!