Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/26650
ARMAGNAC Joÿ Jeremy Light, Wine & Spirits Director for the Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood, CA, offers a range of JOŸ-ful expressions at the bar, on the menu and paired with cigars. 104 / the tasting panel / march 201 1 to the World IN A SEA OF EAUX-DE-VIE, MARKETING AN ARMAGNAC IS A NOVEL IDEA. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THIS “CONNOISSEUR’S BRANDY” IS BEING WELL RECOGNIZED story and photos by Meridith May here’s a profound flavor expression in Armagnac,” notes Jeremy Light, the Wine & Spirits Director for the casually elegant Restaurant at the Sunset Marquis hotel. The prop- erty, hidden in tree-nestled seclusion just off L.A.’s busy Sunset Strip, is a combination of see-and- be-scene celebrity haunt and exclusive hideaway hotel with a reputation for its fine food and beverage program. “T “I love the concentra- tion and distinction of Armagnac,” Light contin- ues, sipping an expression of JOŸ Armagnac that was distilled in 1959. The 52-year-old spirit is years older than its quaffer, but Light knows his stuff and has recently been promoted to his new position because of that knowledge. JOŸ 1959 Bas Armagnac is limited to a 300-bottle availability. While he uses JOŸ XO in his signature Sidecar, he also understands sense of pairing this uniquely qualified French brandy with crafted, complex cigars in the hotel’s new area designated for exqui- site smokes-and-spirits pairings. The JOŸ XO Bas Armagnac possesses a soft, wafting aroma of orange peel, apricot, tobacco leaf and chamomile, with walnut and mocha notes. What a deeply satisfying connection Light has made with the Corretto by HH, a smooth and creamy-leafed premium smoke which itself delivers a foray of