LOS ANGELES — What do you do after you make millions in tech, receives accolades as a model husband for one of the world’s top athletes, and father an adorable child? For Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, the answer was to get into spirits. On Monday (11.12), Ohanian unveiled Shakmat, an Armenian brandy that he created in collaboration with Flaviar, a direct-to-consumer spirits club.
The Brooklyn-born Ohanian is the great-grandson of refugees from the Armenian Genocide in the early twentieth century. While visiting his ancestral home in 2010, he discovered the joys of the local distillate.
“Armenian brandy is something Armenians are really proud of, but outside of Armenia and the Armenian community, no one really knows it, which is a real shame — it’s legendary,” he said in a statement.
Shakmat is a blended, 23-year-old XO brandy, clocking in at 40 percent alcohol content. The spirit is grape based and utilizes a double distillation process involving both a continuous column still and French alembic stills.
The official tasting notes tout Shakmat’s “flavors of dried fruits, nuts and spices, think plums, raisins, walnuts and cloves, as well as rich molasses, tobacco and vanilla notes which are typical of a traditional Armenian Konyak.”
Keeping it local, a portion of the proceeds will help fund the non-profit Armenia Tree Project.
