Before Depop and Etsy made vintage hunting virtual, there was the art of rummaging. Inside op-shops and second-hand stores, would-be treasure hunters would dive headfirst into mouldy cardboard boxes and dusty clothing racks, fuelled by a resounding belief that they may one day unearth a hidden gem. It’s the alluring unknown of what lies at the bottom of the pile that compels us to search. I can still recall the first time I stumbled across something valuable in my hometown antique store.
It was a copy of a first-print edition of ‘Frankenstein’ released in the pre-promotional run for the 1931 Boris Karloff film. It was all beat up and the spine was hanging on by a thread, but I knew there was something far more special about this book than the $2 price tag suggested. I took it home and researched the hell out of it, and to my great surprise, I was right. Copies like mine, even in their battered state, went for a few hundred bucks, which at the time, was probably more than I’d ever earned.
To me, the dollar amount was inconsequential. The real reward was vindication; confirmation that, on rare occasions, you can find a diamond in the rough. You just need to know where to find it. David Vuu and Deni Kay, the masterminds behind independent Australian bottler Old Master Spirits, have made an entire business out of doing just that.
Old Master Spirits
Since 2020, the two friends-turned-business partners have scoured the world to uncover long-lost spirits and historic expressions, covering everything from Cognac and Armagnac to rum and whisky. Weaving their way through now-defunct distilleries, family-owned operations and the darkest corners of little-known barrel rooms, David and Deni have unearthed a lifetime of ‘liquid treasures’, including a 63-year-old Grande Champagne Cognac that was first distilled in 1957.
That release, which thrust Old Master Spirits into the global spirits conversation, proved that not only was there merit in exploring the past, there was also a world of untapped potential. Suddenly, new and interesting opportunities opened up, allowing David and Deni to push the boundaries and search for rarer and more remarkable expressions each and every year. But when it came time to celebrate the brand’s fifth anniversary, the duo knew they were looking for something special.
What they found shocked even them.
Bottled to celebrate Old Master Spirits’ half-decade, the A.100 Famille Cabanne is a 100-year-old Grande Champagne Cognac first distilled in the early 1920s by fabled French producer Famille Cabanne. A century of maturation in one of the finest family-owned Cognac houses in Europe under its belt, the stunning spirit is now officially the oldest spirit to ever be independently bottled exclusively for Australia.
”I don’t know if we thought early on that bottling a 100-year-old would ever happen. That would’ve been a pipe dream.” David tells me. ”[Discovering it was a mixture of] sheer excitement and disbelief. It must be what winning the Powerball jackpot feels like. That feeling hasn’t completely worn off just yet to be completely honest.”
Old Master Spirits A.100 Famille Cabanne
It goes without saying that 100-year-old releases—of any drink—are hard to come by, but the real beauty of the A.100 Famille Cabanne is the provenance. The spirit comes from the revered region of Charente where, for over two centuries, the Cabanne family distillery has produced internationally recognised Cognacs and brandies with a formula that has remained largely unchanged.
“We were extremely impressed immediately by the quality and the vibrancy of the Cognac,” David explains. “The cellar masters at Cabanne are unparalleled when it comes to caring for casks of old Cognac. They have stock dating back to the early 1800s. The ability to manage that type of stock can only come from experience and knowledge passed down through generations.”
In the case of the A.100, distillation was carried out on lees towards the beginning of the 20th century in the old distillery of Maine Gallard via direct fire. The release is composed of 100 per cent Ugni Blanc Grande Champagne Cru and was matured for 100 years in refill Seguin Moreau coarse-grained barrels, which David reveals were approximately 15 years old at the time.
”Transparency, provenance and sharing the nerdy details for each release,” David says. ”For our upcoming 100-year-old, we know what still was used to create it and we share photos of it on our website, the exact grape varietal that was hand-harvested, which cooperage built the cask and that it was approximately 15 years old when it was filled with this eau de vie, along with much more detail. This type of provenance is a prerequisite for us and the strict standards we hold ourselves to.”
In fact, if you’re lucky enough to visit the Cabanne distillery in Bourg-Charente, you’ll see the very machinery responsible for producing this historic spirit. Decommissioned long ago, the antique still sits at the heart of the property as a cherished heritage display item—a tangible relic of a bygone era. Now, it’s helping to usher in a new one.
The Niche of Niche
The A.100 Famille Cabanne is a symbolic nod to the brand’s unique growth. While most of our COVID ideas fizzled out and died once the lockdown ended, David and Deni have somehow managed to make good on their promise to independently bottle spirits in a way that nobody else is. Like the French distiller who first laid down those barrels a century ago, it’s a testament to clarity of vision.
”It’s been a challenging journey and we set the bar really high for ourselves with our early releases, but we feel as though we have continued to out-do ourselves over and over again with each release,” David says.
”We have always considered ourselves and what we do, the niche of niche. Our aim was never to be everything to everyone or to go with the trend.”
David Vuu, co-founder Old Master Spirits
The hardest part, he tells me, is continuing to find those hidden gems. ”We have worked on building relationships and credibility for years,” he explains. ”It’s crucial when you’re being trusted by a family producer to do their ancestors work justice a century later on the opposite side of the globe.”
For David and Deni, the A.100 Famille Cabanne marks a defining moment in the evolution of Old Master Spirits. A record-breaking anniversary release with a striking backstory to boot, the limited edition Cognac can’t help but make a bold statement. To David and Deni, it’s that pipe dreams do come true and that hard work does pay off, but if you ask me, the lesson here is far more romantic.
And the more I think about it, the more I return to the art of rummaging; to the weathered pages and crinkled spine of that first-print edition ‘Frankenstein’. I’ve always believed it to be a sort of cautionary tale, but perhaps the message is far more nuanced. Perhaps it is not that those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, but rather that those who preserve history, may one day join in toasting to its glory.
The Old Master Spirits A.100 Famille Cabanne 100-year-old Grande Champagne Cognac will launch on 30 April 2026, with a 24-hour early access for mailing list members. Limited to just 42 bottles worldwide, the special-release spirit is priced at AUD$1,399 and is presented unfiltered and at natural strength.
Old Master Spirits A.100 Famille Cabanne Technical Specifications
- Brand: Old Master Spirits
- Expression: A.100 Famille Cabanne
- Type: 100% Ugni Blanc Grande Champagne Cru
- Provenance: Cabanne Distillery, Bourg-Charente
- Maturation: 100 years in re-fill Seguin Moreau coarse-grained barrels
- ABV: 46.6%
- Region: Bourg-Charente, France
- Availability: Limited to 42 bottles
- Price: AUD$1,399
