Yerevan Ararat-brandy-wine-vodka factory
Nerses Tairyan was a well-known merchant and philanthropist. In 1877 he started industrial production of wine, in 1887 - of brandy at the territory of the former Erivan Fortress. The idea to set up a wine-vodka factory was suggested to Nerses Tairyan by his cousin, Vasiliy Tairov, who used to be a distinguished wine-maker in Odessa and editor of the «Bulletin of Winemaker» magazine. The famous painter H.Aivazovsky, who was a relative of Tairyan, helped him to build the factory.
In 1898 Nerses Tairyan leased the factory to Nikolay Shustov, who purchased it a year later for 50,000 roubles. Having established his own business in Moscow in 1863, N.Shustov became one of the first producers of brandy in Russia. Already in 1870-s «Shustov and Sons» company managed to take into its hands 80% of brandy-wine-vodka-liquer production in Tsar Russia.In 1901 Nikolay Shustov incognito sent samples of brandy to an exhibition in Paris. The judges, venerable French tasters, unanimously granted Gran Prix to the unknown brandy-maker, but after they found out he was not French and the brandy was sent from Armenia, they were so astonished, that made an exception for Nikolay Shustov and granted him the privelege to put the word «cognac» on his labels, instead of «brandy», as it should naturally be. Thus, Shustov became the first and the only foreign wine-maker all throughout the history of brand- producing, who was honoured with this privelege. In 1912 Tsar Nikolay II tried Shustov’s brandy at a testing competition and highly assessed the unique quality of the brandy, and Shustov’s company was honoured to become the chief Supplier of the Russian Emperor’s Court. In the beginning of the last century the company was awarded with numerous prizes and gold medals for highest quality of the alcoholic drinks produced, and the foundation of the world fame of the Armenian brandy was laid. And the bell became the symbol of «N. Shustov and Sons» company. The period when Margar Sedrakyan worked at the factory, was called the «Star Time». It was then that the most famous Armenian brandies, based on his technology, were created. In 1945 at a conference in Yalta Stalin offered Churchill a glass of Armenian brandy. Since then experienced in noble beverages British leader each month would receive a box of that brandy from Stalin. Once Churchill noted that the taste of the brandy had changed a bit – it became worse. Stalin’s reaction was immediate – having learned that Margar Sedrakyan, the author of this blend, was exiled, the Soviet leader ordered to set him free, to reinstate in his position of chief technologist of the factory and to give him back the party ticket. So the Prime-Minister of Great Britain continued to receive his favourite brandy and drink up to a bottle of this beverage in a day. Later Margar Sedrakyan received the medal of a Hero of Socialist Work.
COLLECTION «YEREVAN ARARAT-BRANDY-WINE-VODKA FACTORY»
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