If you have a desire to please yourself with high-quality alcohol, which will present not only intoxication, but will also have a pleasant taste and delicate aroma, then you should pay attention to products that have won the favor of many consumers.
At the moment, store shelves are bursting with bottles, which proudly says "brandy". But this is far from always true. Moreover, very often the price greatly exceeds the quality. Although there are still brands whose drinks can not only pleasantly surprise with taste, but also please with a price. It is to them that the Armenian brandy Ijevan belongs.
Drinks from this plant have been delighting connoisseurs of good cognac for more than 60 years. It can be served as a digestif after dinner, or decorate them with large festive feasts.
About Ijevan brandy, reviews are left not only by ordinary consumers, but also by experienced experts. So, in their opinion, this wonderful drink will not only become an adornment of any table, it can be safely presented as an expensive gift.
Tasting Characteristics
Armenians are very sensitive to the production of cognac. For each specific alcohol, there is a unique grape variety that will harmoniously be woven into the recipe of the drink. For the production of Ijevan brandy, Lalavr and Banants grapes are used.
It is these varieties that have a special, recognizable note in the aroma, which is transmitted to the drink. Each alcohol of this manufacturer must be aged for at least three years. The youngest alcohols are used exclusively for the production of three-star cognac.
Color features
The consistency and brightness of the shades of Ijevan brandies is simply amazing. The drinks palette changes with age. It begins with bright honey-amber tones, with age, alcohol becomes darker, richer.
The beauty of the fragrance
Of course, each drink of this brand has its own special, unique flavor. But there is something that unites them all - this is a pleasant fruit plume. And naturally, the vanilla note that the oak barrel gives to the drink. True, it is almost not felt in young cognacs.
Variety of taste
The main notes in all varieties of Ijevan cognac are vanilla, spices and cream. The taste of each drink is perfectly balanced and unique in its own way, but these three basic shades must be present.
Types of cognac
In specialized stores or on the shelves of large supermarkets you can see a fairly wide line under the Ijevan logo. Of course, the Ijevan cognac 5 stars is considered the most popular, but the rest of the positions have quite a lot of fans. It is believed that women prefer young cognac, while men of respectable age should not be presented with a drink whose aging is less than seven years.
The three-year-old Ijevan cognac is distinguished by its light straw color and original taste, in which walnut tones are pronounced. The aroma is full of spicy notes.
Cognac "Ijevan" 5 years of exposure has a bright amber color with slightly noticeable straw glare. The aroma is saturated with bright oak notes, and vanilla is in the foreground in taste.
Ijevan Arch has a 15-year exposure. Its color is saturated, dark straw. In the aroma, in the first place are the tones of dried fruits with spicy notes. The taste is very delicate and balanced.
"Ijevan Nemrut" is aged 20 years. It is attributed to premium cognacs. It also has a dark straw color. It is famous for its excellent, refined aroma, which combines plum, pear and notes of walnut.
Right feed
There are several basic principles for serving cognac, due to which the aroma opens correctly, and all taste tones are heard especially clearly.
In no case should you serve the drink too chilled or warm. It should be at room temperature. After tasting cold cognac, you won’t be able to feel all the delights of taste and aroma, they just won’t open. And an overheated drink can lead to a sharp intoxication and unpleasantly surprise with a too strong aroma.
What is combined with
In general, according to the "4C" rule, which the French established, cognac is combined only with coffee, chocolate and cigars. All these three words and cognac in French begin with the letter "c". But since this drink belongs to heavy alcoholic drinks, it is preferable to still have a bite to prevent alcohol from hitting the head prematurely.
Low-meat meat, game and seafood are perfect for Ijevan cognac. It will be appropriate to serve sliced hard cheeses, fruits and chocolate.
One important point: in no case should brandy be combined with citrus fruits. Such fruits not only completely kill the entire flavor, but also partially drown out the taste.
How to distinguish a fake from the original
Now when choosing alcohol you need to be extremely careful. Since in the domestic market the share of counterfeit is prohibitive. Forged almost everything, but especially often the products of well-known, high-quality, well-selling brands. Cognac "Ijevan" is also on the list of attackers. Moreover, fake alcohol under this name is sometimes even found in specialized points of sale. In order not to become a victim of counterfeiters, you need to pay attention to such things:
- Quality packaging and labels. If the bottle left the factory, then its design will be perfect. If defects such as a curved label are visible, or glue is visible from under it, then this is an obvious fake. Also, that the products are not of high quality, they can say a deformed cap or marriage on the bottle itself. Another important nuance is that all inscriptions on the label will certainly be corrugated if the products are factory-made.
- Transparency. Yes, the main part of the line is dark in color, but this does not mean that the liquid should be cloudy. Cognac must be crystal clear. There is no acceptable sediment. And even if the seller will convince that they are just crumbs of cork, you should not take a bottle. Perhaps this is not a fake, but if the cork has broken in the drink, it means that the storage rules have not been observed, in this situation the manufacturer is not responsible for the quality of the product.
- Viscosity. Cognac "Ijevan" oily in consistency. Even a three-year-old cognac will be viscous. To check this, just turn the bottle over and shake it. On the walls of the container there should be tracks from dripping drops of the drink.