Cognac Bache Gabrielsen 40 ° 70 cl
The fairy tale of young lieutenant Thomas Bache-Gabrielsen, who went to Cognac in search of fame and fortune, is a story that challenges us. Thomas's father headed Holmestrands Samlag for Brændevinshandel, a liquor monopoly, in the second half of the 19th century. He left for Cognac in 1903. As in most fairy tales, good friends are always welcome, and another Norwegian, Peter Anton Rustad from Ås to Akershus, was already established in the area. He chose the young Bache-Gabrielsen as his partner when they took the cabinet of A. Edmond Dupuy in 1905. This meant that Thomas was not only in the Cognac region, but also in the Cognac market. To cut a long story of short success, Thomas married and won "The Princess and Half of the Kingdom". Or almost. He became a son-in-law of an old wine family, strengthening the company and adding to his knowledge of wine production. In 1916, Rustad died in a motorcycle accident and Thomas continued on his own. His relations with Scandinavia, and Norway in particular, were good. Today, Bache-Gabrielsen is one of the few traditional and family Cognac houses, and occupies old, almost obsolete premises in the center of Cognac. When you go through the doors, it's almost like entering a Charles Dickens movie of 1890. Behind this facade the company is ultra modern, as modern as it is possible to be when it comes to Cognac. The Cognac house is now run by Hervé Bache-Gabrielsen, great-grandson of Thomas Bache-Gabrielsen, who recently took over the day-to-day management of his father's business, Christian Bache-Gabrielsen, who is now Chairman of the Board . Norway remains the biggest market, but if you ask for a Bache-Gabrielsen further south in Europe, you may have to ask two or three times because the company's cognacs are still marketed under the name Dupuy.