Review: “B&B” Brandy & Benedictine
When I was a kid my dad had THE coolest bottle of booze on the planet. Actually it was two bottles, fused into a single decanter: Benedictine on one side, B&B (a blend of brandy and Benedictine) on the other, each with its own spout.
Coolest thing on earth to look at, but not once did I ever see it used.
Benedictine (technically "Bénédictine") is an herbal liqueur composed of 27 plants and spices and brewed up by monks on and off since 1510; it's bittersweet a lot like a typical amaro liqueur (like, say, Averna). Many likely find it not easy to drink on its own (though it's used in tons of cocktail recipes), so they mixed it with cognac to create B&B.
The bottled version of B&B is arguably the world's first pre-mixed cocktail, dating back to the 1930s. While both renditions are currently 80 proof (they were 86 proof until 1978), B&B is darker in color and somewhat less sweet, making it a bit more easygoing than straight Benedictine and easier to consume at room temperature, though both are quite a bit better served on the rocks. All told, B&B offers interesting citrus notes, with some vanilla, wood, and lots of complicated herbs here. Not at all bad as a digestif.
But frankly you can do better than B&B by taking straight Benedictine and mixing it half-and-half with your favorite cognac. I mixed Benedictine with Bache-Gabrielsen XO and there's a lot more complexity here, and while I think the bitterness of the Benedictine ultimately detracts from the cognac's more interesting characteristics, it's really a personal preference issue of how you like your drink.
Bottom line: B&B is good, but you can probably improve on it with straight Benedictine and your favorite brandy without a whole lot more effort on your part.
B / $31 / benedictine.fr
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June 4th, 2009 - 19:33
I love B&B – it is a good “gateway” drink in my opinion because of its combination of dry and sweet. If I where training a friend to enjoy something like, say, scotch, and this person had never drank something dry before, I’d start them on B&B.
One note: you mention that it is easy to make your own B&B, and often the result will better than what you can buy off the shelf. I think you are right, but I’d caution that the quality of liquor you would need to mix with Benedictine might not make it worth it.
I’ve tried it before with some fairly fancy, ~$50 a bottle French brandy. Still, I though the bottled stuff was (much) better.
October 4th, 2009 - 19:49
well for you first time getting drunk it tears you apart there was throwup everywhere dont remember a thing so on a scale of one to ten 8 very strong drink idk how i downed that drink like i did it was a great night though nearly got poisond from it
October 18th, 2009 - 20:56
you talk about your dad who had the two bottles fused as one with both the brandys with dual spouts. .
I have one… it has never been opened… green on one side and brown on the other.. it is very cool…. would like to get a value on it….
B&B is great .. I have been drining it for many years…. After a few you tend to want to give back stuff you never even borrowed
November 9th, 2009 - 15:45
I am looking for old B&B bottles. Please email me if anyone can hepl me.
November 18th, 2009 - 10:52
If you are looking for B & B bottles from 60s t0 70s era, I have them. All boxed, please let me know. Email: rumygo@netscape.net
Regards,
Eugene
March 25th, 2010 - 07:50
I have a bottle of B and B from I have no idea when. It has a label which states, “SOLE AGENTS FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – JULIUS WILE SONS AND CO. INC.” That tells me it is REALLY OLD. Any thoughts.
Thank you,
eaj