It is a huge challenge to come up with something thoughtful, masculine and “useful” to show my appreciation, but I hit upon the perfect Parisian souvenir for men while visiting one of Paris’ institutions, Ryst-Dupeyron Armagnac distillers.
For five generations the Dupeyron family have been the purveyors of fine Armagnac, Cognac and wines in the heart of the 7th arrondissement. We were introduced to Ryst-Dupeyron by Alisa, our tour guide from Context Travel Paris. Our stop at the shop included an Armagnac tasting by the affable and knowledgable Eveline who has a generous pour mentality which suited us nicely given the day we were visiting it was cold and raining outside. We took a wee dram at first, but then encouraged by her enthusiasm sipped more and more from the different vintages taking care to keep track of which ones we preferred.
Eveline brought us to the back office area where petit bottles of Armagnac were lined up by year of distillation like soldiers on inspection. She explained that casks of the spirits are kept in the original barrels until needed, whereupon as demand necessitates, they bottle more and bring it to the shop for sale. I saw a bottle of 1964 – the finest year every for Armagnac (not factually correct) in my opinion because that is the year of the birth of Mr. Weekend In Paris. I decided it would be a perfect Parisian souvenir for him all wrapped up in their sturdy red box and then Eveline chimed in and told me how I could make it even more special. Ryst-Dupeyron will print out a personalized label with the name of the recipient and place it on the bottle for you. Très cool!
Other Gal Pals bought bottles as well from years similar to mine and for special occasions like an 80th birthday gift. Note to purchasers, make sure you see the price list before having the labels made. As expected, the older the Armagnac, the more expensive the bottle, but in some cases the year’s distillation is almost gone and therefore excruciatingly expensive. We loved finding the perfect Parisian souvenir for the men in our lives.
Location
Ryst-Dupeyron
79 rue du Bac Paris 75007
4 comments
How cute that they personalize the bottles for the recipient!
Hi Suzy,
I know, right? So cute and just the right gift. Men are so difficult to buy for and any women who like armagnac will love the personalized bottles too!
Thanks for reading and for including me in your weekly stumbles. You always have the most interesting group of posts gathered together.
Cheers,
Priscilla
We’ve shopped there as well, but the bottle we bought was much older than yours (1941). I’d forgotten until you mentioned it that our bottle was also personalized with the lucky recipient’s name. Nice memory. Thanks.
Hey Maggie,
1941 humm…must be your parents. ;)
I loved how personable Eveline was with us and the fact that the building looks as though it hadn’t been touched since its 1905 inception.
Thanks very much for writing in and taking the time to read and comment on my posts.
Cheers,
Priscilla
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