Noy got its name from Noah, who, according to legend, landed his ark on Mount Ararat after 150 days of sailing. Noy brandy has been produced in Yerevan, Armenia since 1877. However, the name Noy was established in 2002, when brandy production was restarted after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Brandy is produced by Yerevan Ararat Brandy Factory. The company did produce brandy and sell it under the brand name “Armenian Cognac” twenty years after the company was founded. Then the name was changed to Shustov, until during the Second World War it was sold under the name of Ararat. During the Russian occupation, the company was nationalized and production was continued. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the factory was abandoned and dilapidated for more than 10 years. It wasn’t until 2002 that the factory was renovated and modernized. It should also be mentioned that this is not the same company that produces Ararat, Armenia’s most famous brandy. The company that produces Ararat is Yerevan Brandy Company. Noy Araspel 5 (araspel means legend) is a blend of distillates aged for an average of 5 years in Armenian oak barrels. A 50 cl bottle cost €14.99
The smell is rich and quite sweet. Soft raisin and prune aroma, a little fruit (apricot) and oak. The mouthfeel is thick, the taste is sweet and very soft. The taste has a little dried plum and raisin, but less than the smell revealed. The aroma of the roasted oak barrel is well presented. The taste is relatively sweet, it feels like there is a bit of too much added sugar on it. The taste remains a bit bland and one-sided, the rather pleasant smell made me expect more from the taste. The 40% strength works well, the alcohol gives the drink a good body and the smooth ethanol bite is just noticeable at the end.
Noy 5 is very easy to sip because of its sweetness and softness. Compared to its more well-known big brother Ararat, Noy lags far behind. Yerevan Ararat Brandy Factory produces a fairly comprehensive selection of different Noy brandies, up to the 50-year-old version. The Araspel series is at the cheapest end of Noy’s production, so the company can certainly do much better than what Araspel 5 shows.
77/100
