Awards weekend in Los Angeles runs on newness. Which is why I love the quiet irony of this one: the most intriguing bottle on the table at this year’s Pre-Emmys Celebrity Gifting Lounge had been aging for 35 years before anyone poured a drop.
Jardins d’Arménie Royal Brandy spent September 11 and 12 in front of Emmy nominees, presenters and the VIP crowd that circles television’s biggest night. The global, family-owned luxury house was selected for the invitation-only lounge, and it used the moment to make its official United States debut.
“Jardins d’Arménie represents a combination of heritage and craftsmanship,” says Armen Pogossian, co-owner of the house. As the brand launches stateside, he adds, the occasion offers a chance to share that story with an extraordinary new audience.
From Monte-Carlo to the Emmys
This is not a brand that wandered into Hollywood by accident. Jardins d’Arménie debuted internationally in Monaco in September 2025, unveiling Royal Brandy at a gala at the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo attended by H.S.H. Prince Albert II.
The house kept moving through 2026 with an event during Paris Fashion Week and a Crystal Partnership at the 65th Monte-Carlo Television Festival. Los Angeles was the logical next stop.
A private audience with Royal Brandy
Beyond the lounge, nominees and presenters can host private tastings for themselves and their guests. It is a small, deliberate gesture in a weekend built on volume, and it tells you exactly how this house thinks about luxury: intimate, curated and memorable rather than loud.
Craftsmanship rooted in centuries of Armenian history
Royal Brandy is a modern expression of a craft that reaches back to roughly 4100 B.C. UCLA researchers confirmed as much through the Areni-1 discovery in Armenia’s Vayots Dzor Province, where a wine press, fermentation vat, grape remains and drinking vessels surfaced at what was then the oldest complete wine-production facility known.
The grapes are indigenous, led by Voskehat, and they come from the highlands of Aragatsotn, the rocky vineyards of Vayots Dzor and the sunlit terraces of Armavir. Those vineyards enjoy more than 300 days of sunshine and mineral-rich volcanic soil.
Three stages, 35 years, one very good cap
Every drop is crafted from spirits aged 35 years and older. The brandy begins in oak, moves to apricot wood for fruit and nut nuances, then returns to oak to finish.
A patent-pending, two-part interlocking hermetic cap seals the aromas in from cellar to glass. The bespoke packaging includes signature degustation cups, so the ritual arrives fully assembled.
Why the U.S., and why now
According to IWSR, the United States is now the world’s No. 2 market for status spirits — bottles carrying a global weighted average retail price of $100 or more. Heritage-driven houses have room to run here, and Jardins d’Arménie clearly intends to take it.
Pour slowly. Explore the house at jardinsdarmenie.com.