“NOY” Brandy Factory

The famed “NOY” (ARARAT) Brandy Factory should not be confused with the equally renowned Yerevan Brandy Company “ARARAT.” Until Armenia’s independence in 1991, the country had only one brandy producer, and both “Ararat” and “Noy” are considered its legitimate heirs. “Noy” inherited a magnificent historical building and vast underground cellars adorned with old wine barrels. Although wine is no longer produced here, these barrels remain in place to preserve the ambiance of times past.

In 1998, the Yerevan Brandy Company “ARARAT” was privatized and became part of the French conglomerate Pernod Ricard in a $30 million deal. Thus, the ARARAT brand is no longer Armenian-owned—it belongs to France.

Interestingly, the ARARAT factory lies just across a shallow gorge from the NOY Brandy Factory, separated only by the Razdan River.

Tours begin every hour. A standard tour with tasting lasts about one hour, though visitors may opt for a tour without tasting. The tasting-inclusive ticket costs $10.

According to legend, Noah’s Ark came to rest at the foot of Mount Ararat during the Great Flood. A dove sent forth returned with an olive branch, and when the waters receded, Noah descended from the mountain to settle in the valley below. He was six hundred years old at the time.

Ancient manuscripts and oral traditions attest that viticulture and winemaking have been practiced on the territory of modern Armenia since antiquity—tracing back to around the 15th century BCE. The excellence of Armenian wines is even mentioned by classical historians such as Herodotus, Xenophon, and Strabo, who wrote of the fine, well-aged, and varied wines being exported to neighboring lands.

Today, six primary grape varieties are cultivated in Armenia for brandy production. Five of them—Mskhali, Garan Dmak, Voskehat, Kangun, and Kangun—are native Armenian strains, while the sixth is Georgia’s renowned Rkatsiteli. Previously, grapes were blended before distillation, but now the process is carried out varietally to preserve distinctive characteristics.

Brandy production in Armenia began in 1887, when merchant of the first guild Nerses Tairyan established the country’s first brandy-making operation in Yerevan, utilizing a winemaking facility built ten years earlier on the grounds of the former Yerevan Fortress.

The distillation and aging of brandy followed classical French techniques, as French cognac—by then already a 150-year-old tradition—had earned global acclaim for its quality and elegance.

In 1899, facing difficulties in transporting finished products (Armenia had no railway system at the time), the elderly Tairyan sold his factory to the Russian trading and industrial consortium “N. L. Shustov and Sons.” Between 1893 and 1894, three more brandy factories were constructed in Yerevan, and by 1914 Armenia boasted 15 such facilities. The largest of them was the one purchased by Shustov from Tairyan.

Shustov’s enterprise flourished and expanded. Auxiliary departments and new aging warehouses were built, and a new distillation facility was launched, equipped with 12 Charentais-style copper stills.

The first oak barrels for Armenian brandy were imported from France, and to this day, premium brandies continue to age in these traditional casks.

Following the Russian Revolution, the Shustov factory was nationalized by the First Republic of Armenia and reborn under the name Ararat Wine and Brandy Trust.

One famed anecdote involves Winston Churchill, who famously drank a bottle of the 50-proof “Dvin” brandy daily. When he once complained that its taste had changed, Joseph Stalin investigated. It turned out that its creator, Markar Sedrakyan, had been exiled after a banned book by Armenian poet Charents was discovered in his possession. Sedrakyan was reinstated in the Communist Party, and Churchill’s beloved “Dvin” returned to its former quality. Sedrakyan was later honored with the title Hero of Socialist Labor. In this remarkable twist of fate, brandy saved a gifted man’s life and legacy.

Depending on the method and duration of aging—whether in oak barrels or enamel-lined tanks filled with oak staves—Armenian brandy is classified into three categories: ordinary, vintage, and collectible.

Ordinary brandies are made from spirits aged at least three years and are further categorized into 3-, 4-, and 5-year varieties. Stars on the label correspond directly to the age.
Vintage brandies are distilled from spirits aged no less than six years in oak casks.
Collectible brandies are high-end vintage varieties that undergo additional aging of at least three years. These maintain the original names of their vintage bases.

The process of making Armenian brandy closely follows traditional French methods. Unlike some Russian producers who use continuous column stills, Armenia’s leading distilleries exclusively use batch distillation. Although batch-distilled spirits contain more impurities, they preserve a richer aroma; continuous distillation produces cleaner spirits but strips them of volatile compounds that contribute to flavor.

French cognacs are typically diluted with distilled water. In Armenia, however, the brandy is made with pure spring water, adding to its unique character.

Caramel coloring is a key ingredient in both French and Armenian cognac production. It enhances color and imparts a refined sheen to the final product while also rounding out the aroma and stabilizing the flavor profile.

After distillation, the spirit is transferred to oak barrels (for ordinary and vintage brandies) or to enamel containers filled with oak staves (for ordinary varieties only).

Each barrel is marked with numbers indicating the brandy type and the aging period. The blended brandy is poured into barrels for a brief “rest,” during which the various distillates harmonize—achieving balance, depth, and a refined finish.

Ordinary and vintage brandies “rest” under different conditions. Vintage brandies are aged in 400-liter barrels, while ordinary brandies are stored in large oak vats or enamel tanks, each capable of holding up to 35,000 liters. The barrels used in Armenian brandy production are crafted from Caucasian oak, native to both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Once the rest period ends, the brandy undergoes cold treatment. This process causes micro-particles—introduced during barrel aging—to precipitate. The liquid is then filtered twice to achieve clarity and purity.

During the tour, the guide explains how to identify the subtle notes of aroma in the brandy and how to estimate its age by observing how the “legs” flow down the walls of the glass. The end of the tour finishes with cognac degustation.