Soon after I wrote about the potential value of beer to Vikings (greater than gold?), I find a story extolling a historic French soldier brandy find as the “nectar of the gods”.
Farmers in Gradesnica have unearthed what they say are cases of spirits from trenches once used by French soldiers.
Spirits of those killed by artillery. This Eau de vie gets a new lease on life.
Valued at thousands of euros a bottle, it is said to have survived a German shell strike that killed many soldiers.
The first case of 15 bottles was reportedly unearthed by villagers in the south of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia about 15 years ago.
Several further batches, containing about 12 bottles each, are said to have been found in subsequent digs.
What drives the price so high? Rarity, surely. It also might be something like the phenomenon of product cycles, as Wikipedia suggests the modern value of Cognac sales is linked to interest from young Americans.
Many have credited hip-hop culture as the savior of cognac sales in the USA; after nearly floundering in 1998 due to economic crisis in Asia—cognac’s #1 export market at the time…
Reminds me of the time I discovered no one in Milwaukee would be caught dead drinking a particular drink if their parents enjoyed one, but they were more than happy to try it if it was from their grandparents’ or older generation. The old stuff becomes new again eventually.
Incidentally, if you are ever lucky enough to find a tender who still keeps a pot of Door County cherry mash with spices melting in a pot behind the bar, I highly recommend ordering an Old Fashioned. Soda-water, if they ask. Don’t believe anyone who says a cube of sugar or even a maraschino cherry is involved in achieving the appropriate flavor. They might as well call grape juice with aspartame a variety of brandy.
Granted, the Wikipedia is referring to American sales, and surely the interest in the Gradesnica bottles will be driven by those painfully aware of the region’s social as well as military history, or experts in the trade of fine spirits. But on the other hand, with all the silly XO, VS and VSS labels on cognac today, I wonder if a new label will appear to commemorates the survival of the French cache as the ultimate in exclusivity. The marketing for something like this is superfluous, but perhaps someone will still propose a label or even a brand.
Maybe we can expect Busta Rhymes to come out with a Courvoisier remix — “pass the Gradesnica” — with the sensibilities of the Clash’s Spanish Bombs. Andalucia is known for an Eau de vie made from aniseed. Hmmm, I see a theme here…battle booze.