Artsakh - all about the brand, often called vodka

Artsakh - a drink with a strength of 40-80 degrees, which is made by distillation from some types of local berries and southern fruits. The most common type of this alcohol is mulberry artichoke (also known as mulberry). Next comes the dogwood artesian, followed by distillates obtained from apricots, peaches and grapes. Thus, this drink should be classified as brandy. Sometimes it is even called Armenian chacha, but as we will soon see, the latter definition is also erroneous.

At the same time, in fact, this Transcaucasian alcohol has nothing to do with grain or potato distillates. But it is called Armenian quite rightly. After all, it is produced mainly in southeastern Armenia (Zangezuri) and in Nagorno-Karabakh, which belongs to Azerbaijan but is inhabited by ethnic Armenians...

Production technology

Unlike chacha, which is produced in neighboring Georgia, the raw material for artsakh is not fruit cake, but berries and fruits that have not been squeezed. They are harvested at the peak of their ripening, then turned into mashed potatoes and sent to clay or enamel fermentation tanks together with the juice. At the same time, seeds are preliminarily removed from dogwood, peaches and apricots so that the future drink does not become bitter. Since the production of real artsakh excludes the addition of sugar and cultured yeast to the brew, the fermentation process can last more than one month, and the amount of the drink at the output is quite modest. So, to get a liter of mulberry vodka, you need 5 kg of mulberry. In order to give the world a liter of cotoneaster, you need no more and no less than 35 kg of wild cotoneaster.

The ripened brew is distilled in copper cubes, similar to the good old Sharents cognac alambics. Ideally, this should be done twice, with the alcohol separated into fractions during secondary distillation. The result is a very strong drink with a rich sweet and sour taste and sour fruit and berry flavor.

At the end of distillation, most distillates are diluted with environmentally friendly spring water, filtered and immediately bottled. However, some of the resulting alcohols undergo an additional stage of aging. First of all, we are talking about mulberry. It is aged for 1-5 years in burnt barrels made from mulberry trees that have ceased to bear fruit. If, for example, we are talking about aging apricot juice, then barrels for it are made of apricot wood. It's funny that rogue dealers often call this kind of artzakh cognac.

How to drink artsakh

The fruit and berry brandy we are interested in is served uncooled and drunk neat from glasses with a volume of no more than 50 ml. It is ideal for a feast consisting of meat, fish and vegetable dishes of Armenian or Azerbaijani cuisine. In addition, the inhabitants of Transcaucasia recommend using it as a digestif. Although, according to alcohol experts, this drink can be consumed before the start of the meal.

Brands of Armenian fruit and berry brandy

If you decide to get to know Artsakh better, you should remember the following alcoholic brands:

1. Artsakh brandy

2. Apricot

3. Astafyan VKZ

4. Ijevan VKZ

5. The country of stones

If you want to taste artisanal exoticism with clay fermenting carps and great-grandfather's family recipes, then you cannot do without direct involvement in Armenian primary sources.

Update: 25.02.2017

Category: Brandy and Cognac