He claimed history was only the nail on which he hung his stories, and he had no qualms in taking D'Artagnan to Paris 15 years early to become a hero under Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu rather than under Louis XIV and Cardinal Mazarin.As for his romantic side, the little we do know is that D'Artagnan's wife left him because he preferred court and battlefield to house and home. If local knowledge is to be believed, he quite liked Armagnac too. Along with other Gascon soldiers, D'Artagnan is widely credited with making the drink popular in Parisian society I didn't need much more of an incentive than that. I hurried off to investigate this charming little aside.With about a thousand Armagnac producers in the area, it wasn't difficult to find one Most are concentrated around Eauze and the town of Condom.
Just a few kilometres south of Condom, the Ch?au de Cassaigne has the advantage of being both an Armagnac producer and an interesting historic building. It was a bishop's residence in medieval times, and the ch?au's pi? de r?stance is the 16th-century kitchen with its peculiar stone ceiling. This is the place to learn about the liquor rather than the boring and unenlightening Museum of Armagnac in Condom.Armagnac differs from cognac in that it involves a single rather than a double distillation and its production is limited by royal charter to a certain region. The still was brought to France by the Moors, who used it for scientific rather than alcoholic purposes, and the first mention of Armagnac can be traced back to the 13th century, when it was used by apothecaries for its disinfectant properties. As well as Armagnac itself, there are a host of liquors based on the brandy and a number of different fruits soaked in it.
"There's a bit of a crisis in the after-dinner drinks market," confided manager Thierry Roques, adding that today's younger generation doesn't have time to sit after a meal and mull over the good things of life. "All the producers are trying to develop pre-dinner drinks."Appropriately in D'Artagnan land, I discovered Pousse Rapier ("'sword thruster"), an Armagnac and orange liquor added to sparkling wine, which is particular to the Ch?au Monluc in nearby St-Puy. It's far cheaper to buy Pousse Rapier at Ch?au Monluc than in the region's gift shops, and besides, the ch?au is worth a visit both for the magnificent view from its hilltop perch and its 15th-century stone floor with sunken reservoir.At the Domain de Laguille near Eauze, Colette and Guy Vignoli make Glengers, an Armagnac with an interestingly complex malt whisky perfume Glengers also has a somewhat tenuous musketeer connection. The story goes that in 1724, the then musketeer captain Nicolas de Terlon came back from Quebec where he was serving. Together with Aramis and Porthos, he created a drink in memory of their dead friend, D'Artagnan, by mixing Armagnac with maple syrup, which Terlon had brought from Canada.Head north from the Domain de Laguille and you'll find Larressingle, a tiny and unspoilt medieval fortified village.
