The house of A. Edmond Audry was founded in 1878. From their inception, they focused on older Cognacs. There isn’t a lot of information about the early days, except we do know that Edmond had a son named Odette. He took over the business and married a woman by the name of Aristide Boisson in 1905.
After Aristide’s passing in the early 1950’s, the house of Audry ceased production and stopped selling their Cognac. However, the cellar’s they possessed remained, aging quietly for almost 30 years. In 1976, Bernard Boisson, the present-day owner and grandson of Aristide, decided to stop practicing law and revive his family business somewhat as a retirement project. Luckily for him, there was a large amount of older stocks he could use to rebuild the family name. Since he took over, some inventory has been replenished via contracts with different grower/distillers.
Keeping with the tradition of blending older Cognac, the youngest release Audry has is a Napoléon and they’re known for almost exclusively blending Fine Champagne. In fact, all of their releases currently on the market are Fine Champagne except one, the Très Ancienne Réserve, which is 100% Grande Champagne.
In 2005, Time Magazine wrote an article about Cognac and stated that Audry was “the best Cognac you’ve never heard of.” They already had a great reputation, but after that piece was published, they were on the mind of every Cognac connoisseur.
Once a blend is complete, it goes into neutral barrels to marry for at least two years (sometimes up to three). Audry bottles very little annually, only about 10,000 bottles go out worldwide, so it’s not easy to get. Even their devoted restaurant followers, including many Michelin star rated venues, can only secure a small amount.
