HEAVENLY SPIRITS
Importers of Exceptional French Spirits. Heavenly Spirits is a leading importer of artisanal French spirits, such as Armagnac, Calvados, Cognac, whisky, gin, aperitifs and liqueurs. For the past nine years, the company has been recognized as the number one importer of Armagnac in the US, accounting for 30% of all Armagnac sold each year. The Heavenly Spirits portfolio is represented in 32 US states and includes an impressive list of iconic brands.
ARTEZ
Artez is a small Armagnac producer who owns 12 hectares (30 acres) located in the Western part of the Bas Armagnac, also known as the First Cru.
Even though the eaux de vie have been produced at this distillery for many decades, a new owner took over the family business about 20 years ago. The uniqueness of Artez is to produce mostly single varietals of Armagnacs, a very rare specialty which requires special skills from the distiller and blender
DARTIGALONGUE
The oldest house in Bas Armagnac, the Dartigalongue family began to distill in 1813. In 1838, Pascal Dartigalongue founded the first Maison d'Armagnac in Nogaro, the heart of the Bas Armagnac region. In 1870 son Joseph acquired a large vineyard in Salles d'Armagnac near Nogaro.
In 1978 great grandson Pierre Dartigalongue created his Museum in Nogaro which houses all the archives of Maison D'Armagnac, including all correspondence since 1838 and a fascinating collection of Vieux Armagnacs in their original bottles, dated 1829, 1848, 1852, 1870, and 1900.
In 2010, Françoise Dartigalongue, fifth generation producer, then the head of the company, convinced her niece Virginie’s husband, Benoit Hillion, to leave his job as an agronomist in Paris to settle in Nogaro and take over the business.
Seduced by the history of the House and by the enthusiasm and optimism of Françoise, Benoit quickly took over and boosted the development of the Maison.
DELORD
Born in 1875, Prosper Delord started the company as an itinerant distiller. He gained a reputation for his dedication and expertise by carting his traveling pot still around to the farms in the Bas Armagnac region. When his son Gaston took over in 1925 he officially founded the company name and established the business as a permanent site in Lannepax.
Today, great grandsons Jerome and Sylvain carry on the same tradition, having established a reputation for quality that is unsurpassed. Owners of a prime 30 hectare vineyard in the heart of the Bas Armagnac, (widely known as the 1st Cru), they have been distilling, ageing and blending their eaux-de-vie the exact same way their great-grandfather did. Their ageing cellars contain Armagnacs dating back to 1904.
JAHOIT
The Domaine Jacquiot is located in Plassac between Angouleme and Cognac. It's a small family-owned producer who makes cognacs and crème de fruits under the name Jahiot.
He grows his own cassis on a Southern exposure hill and it's truly one of the best cassis we have ever tasted. He puts more fruit in the blend and lets the blend macerate for many months, and the result is a very tart and intense cassis taste (other producers will put less fruit and age for only a few weeks, and the result will be very sweet and syrupy).
MARIE DUFFAU
Born in 1875, Prosper Delord started the company as an itinerant distiller. He gained a reputation for his dedication and expertise by carting his traveling pot still around to the farms in the Bas Armagnac region. He later married Marie Duffau and in 1925, they officially founded the company with their son Gaston and established the business as a permanent site in Lannepax.
The Armagnacs were sold under the two names, Delord or Marie Duffau, each named taken from a Grandmother of the family. Today, great grandsons Jerome and Sylvain carry on the same tradition, having established a reputation for quality that is unsurpassed.
