How long does Armagnac last?!
Answers: A friend gave me a beautiful bottle of Armagnac with fruit. It has never been opened, but I've had it for a few years. Can I use it, or do I have to throw it out?
I am a former chef and it never goes bad the fruit was grown in the bottle like the pears in Poire William eau-de-vie or added later, after the years in the bottle the fruit is so saturated with alcohol it is like a mummy well preserved.
If your not fond of it, look for a wine appraiser to see if auctioned what kind of price it would fetch, for rarer old items even with there % of the price it could be worth while.
If you decide to keep it and consume it, like brandy and cognac, it is a grape based spirit from the region it is named after, Calvados is made from apples, and Armagac is a distilled wine aged in barrels for a minimum of 5 yrs up to 30, ones with fruit as I stated were either grown in the bottle or added in the bottling stage like cherries, plums or raspberries (these were first preserved in the same liqour).
You can drink like brandy in a snifter, in a mixed cocktail as a flavour, use it in cooking like flambes or crepes and you can marinate or maserate fruits in it for compotes, on cakes or in fillings for pastrys.
Some Armagnacs are century old - the greatest spirit for gourmets God has ever given to mankind - Before you open the bottle be sure you have special armagnac glasses, beautiful tulip-shaped glasses - as they are huge, enable to put both hands around, and warm the liquor before you sip it
as much through your nose as through your mouth
Give me your adress - i'm coming soon