An Armagnac Tasting with Shane Pearlman

An Armagnac Tasting with Shane Pearlman

A truly unique session in the historic Duke of York, with two intertwined conversations: a top-shelf introduction to Armagnac — France’s oldest brandy — for whiskey drinkers, and the release of the first bottling from a project that took flight at Belfast Whiskey Week in 2021.

Your host is Shane Pearlman — passionate spirits geek and intermittent independent bottler — and this is his obsession talking. In his own words:

“In 2018 I became obsessed with Armagnac, the oldest known distillate in the world. Why? Because price-to-joy, nothing comes even close. Because it is downright delicious. Because the production isn’t corporate-factory output. Each cask comes from a family working their farm, distilling once per year — spirits from people whose table you will sit at and share a meal with, then dip into the cellars and taste casks dating back to their great-grandparents. There are few places left on earth with such history and authenticity.”

Shane is bringing five bottles from casks he has personally purchased — full-metal brandy for a whiskey drinker’s palate, ranging from 21 to 60 years in the cask. How many people have sipped a 1967 spirit, still in cask? The sample has just been pulled, and it will rock your world.

The Dunville’s launch

At a Belfast Whiskey Week dinner in 2021, Shane and Jarlath from Echlinville dreamed up a proposition no one else could pull off: marry a good Irish whiskey with a top-calibre Armagnac cask — the kind of cask producers simply don’t sell, because they’re used for generations. The result has been resting ever since.

You’ll taste the Grand Mole 1985 cask #17 (a whopping 61% ABV) and the elegant Dunville’s 21 single cask that has been maturing in its arms for years — trying the whiskey after its finish alongside the very spirit that shaped it. Attendees get friends-and-family pricing on the Dunville’s bottle.

Expect excellent brandy, a special whiskey launch, and a proper conversation on the history, production and ageing that make Armagnac so good.

When & where

• Thursday 30 July 2026, from 8:00pm
• Duke of York, Commercial Court, Belfast
• Five single-cask Armagnacs (21–60 years) · Grand Mole 1985 cask #17 · Dunville’s 21 single cask launch

Ticket

• £25 · 40 places max

Important: This is an 18+ event. ID may be required on arrival.