On the heels of Pierre Ferrand’s 10-year-old Ambre, I gave the distillery’s 20-year-old Reserve cognac a try.

I was less of a fan of this edition of Ferrand’s brandy, which is considerably darker in color but comes off as a bit brutish and somewhat unbalanced. The flavors are relatively typical of the space, veering more toward the citrus. There’s lemon, orange, honey, and a big oak finish. But something is off in the finale… I can only describe it as having a little bit of a whiff of a fishmonger’s stall, though — and again I can’t really put this properly into words — it’s not entirely unpleasant, just off.

On the whole it’s a fair cognac, but the younger Ambre is considerably easier on the palate. Note that prices vary widely.

80 proof.

B / $65

Pierre Ferrand Reserve Cognac

$65

8

Rating

8.0/10