Of all Armenia's alcoholic drinks, Cognac is its best-known product, the cognac factory exporting more than 2 million bottles a month to Russia alone. It's no wonder why, since it is truly one of the best brandies in the world, the only type William Churchill drank (Stalin often complained about Churchill, saying he cared more about his next shipment of Armenian Cognac than how the war was going). Armenian cognac won its first Grand-Prix gold medal in France in 1904, which has been followed by 51 gold, 21 silver and 3 bronze medals over the years.

Cognac lovers rave about all grades in Armenia, but a few deserve special note. Ararat is the name given to all brands produced at the Ararat factory, with 3, 4, 5 and 6 star brandy sold at most cognac and liquor stores in the country. Entir is a higher grade of 5-6 year old brandies. Ani is a 5.5 year-old brandy made form 6 to 7 kinds of cognac spirits. Ten to twelve year old cognacs are Hobelianakan, Akhtamar and Hayastan. 12 to 15 year old cognacs are Tonakan, Vaspurakan and Nairi. The top of the cognac hill is Kilikia, which is a mixture of 20 different spirits, the youngest of which is 12 years old, the oldest 100 years in age.