A single-vintage Armagnac from 1954: one year's eau-de-vie, and an easy answer for anyone hunting a gift for someone born or married that year. It comes from Delord, a family house in the village of Lannepax whose story starts in 1893 with Prosper Delord, a travelling distiller who took his still from farm to farm, turning local white wine into Armagnac. His sons founded Delord Frères, and today his great-grandson Sylvain Delord and Jacques Delord still do the tasting, selecting and blending. Delord is one of the few Armagnac houses that runs both column stills and double-distillation stills. One of its column stills is a 'Sier' built in 1900, and the house says it's ideal for old Armagnacs. Our favourite detail: the family keeps its oldest vintages in glass demijohns, away from the light, in a room they call "Paradise." With cellars going back to the early 1900s, Delord is exactly the kind of house that can still offer a 1954, and it's an honest, family-made way to drink a year that matters to you. Pour a small measure into a tulip glass and give it time to open up.