Armagnac, the region of
France, has given its name to its distinctive kind of
brandy or eau
de vie, made of the same grapes as Cognac and undergoing the same aging in oak barrels, but with column still distillation. Armagnac production is overseen by a Bureau National Interprofessionel de l'Armagnac (BNIA).
Armagnac is the only
true rival to Cognac for recognition as the finest producer of brandy in the world. Along with Cognac and Jerez in
Spain, it is one of only three officially demarcated brandy regions in Europe.
Its quantity of production is significantly lower than that of the Cognac region; for every
six bottles of Armagnac sold around the world there are one hundred bottles of cognac sold.
Armagnac has been making brandy for around 200 years longer than Cognac.