Bache-Gabrielsen Aquavit Aged
Cognac, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
- ABV
- 42%
- Base spirit
- Wheat
- Color
- Pale Gold
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Aquavit
- Maturation
- At least 6 months in Ex-Cognac cask Bache-Gabrielsen Cognac French oak
Bache-Gabrielsen Aquavit Aged is the barrel-matured version of the house’s Cognac-produced aquavit, developed with Audemus Spirits. It uses the same dual-distillation approach as the clear expression: a botanical distillate produced in a traditional Cognac still is combined with a lighter angelica distillate made under vacuum. The Aged version was introduced as part of the two-expression DistillationS aquavit range in 2019 and is bottled at 42% ABV in a 700 ml format.
The spirit is based on wheat grain and is matured for at least six months in oak casks previously used for Bache-Gabrielsen Cognac. The maturation gives the aquavit its pale golden colour and adds the influence of the Cognac-seasoned wood to the caraway, citrus and floral character of the underlying spirit. Vinmonopolet records the maturation as more than six months in used Cognac casks and lists the finished aquavit at under 3 g/l of sugar.
Bache-Gabrielsen identifies the maturation vessels more specifically as T5 casks made from fine-grained oak from the Tronçais forest. The wood used for these casks is naturally air-seasoned for five years before cooperage. The T5 barrels are produced in limited quantities and individually made and signed by a qualified Meilleur Ouvrier de France or Compagnon du Devoir cooper. Before holding the aquavit, the casks had contained Bache-Gabrielsen Cognac.
The Aged version was initially presented alongside the clear aquavit in Bache-Gabrielsen’s 2019 collaboration with Gebr. Heinemann. It remains documented through La Cognathèque, where the maturation is specified as a minimum of six months and the finished colour as golden.
Bottle gallery
About the producer
Bache-Gabrielsen
Cognac, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Maison Bache-Gabrielsen was founded in Cognac in 1905 by Norwegian Thomas Bache-Gabrielsen together with his compatriot Peter Anton Rustad. The two acquired the existing Cognac house A. Edmond Dupuy, which dated from 1852, and developed the business with particularly strong connections to Scandinavian markets. Thomas settled permanently in Cognac after marrying Odette in 1906, and the company subsequently remained under family control through four generations.
Thomas was followed in the business by his son René Bache-Gabrielsen, and later by his grandson Christian. The fourth generation is represented by Hervé Bache-Gabrielsen, who took over management of the house in 2009. Jean-Philippe Bergier has served as cellar master since 1989, overseeing the selection, maturation and blending of the house’s spirits and playing a central role in the development of its more experimental releases.
Bache-Gabrielsen operates principally as a Cognac trading and ageing house, sourcing eaux-de-vie from winegrower-distillers and handling selection, maturation and blending within the house. Additional ageing and blending cellars were established at Louzac-Saint-André in 2015. Alongside Cognac and Pineau des Charentes, the company has increasingly worked with other spirit categories; the DistillationS project began with whisky in 2017 and was followed by the Audemus collaboration for aquavit in 2019, explicitly connecting the house’s French production with its Norwegian origins.
