Cognac
Cognac is grape brandy named after the region in which it is made, in an around the town of Cognac in the southwest of France. Cognac is predominantly made from three types of grapes — ugni blanc, folle blanche, and colombard, with other grape varietals showing up in the mix. They are vinified into a thin wine, then distilled twice in copper pot stills to make brandy. This brandy must by law then be aged in French oak barrels for at least two years. Brandy of this minimum age can be labeled VS in quality. After four years it can be called VSOP, and after ten years (a recent extension of time), it becomes XO. Many highly prized cognacs are much older than this — and they carry some incredibly high price tags.
Top Cognac Posts:
What’s the Difference Between Cognac and Armagnac?
Bache-Gabrielsen American Oak Cognac
Courvoisier VS, VSOP, and XO Cognac
Remy Martin 1738 Accord Royal Cognac
Listen, there are gimmicks and there are gimmicks, and the golf world has far more than its fair share of them. Oceano Azul’s Fairway Cognac, however, is perhaps the most ambitious scheme we’ve seen to date, and that includes whiskey Ducks Unlimited-branded whiskey bottled in a shotgun shell, metal WhistlePig piggy banks, and booze contained…
Back in 2022, Sazerac launched a Cognac and named it for itself: Sazerac de Forge. Well, actually the brand had been launched about 250 years prior, so this was bringing the OG Sazerac back to life. Unfortunately, the 2022 “Finest Original” Sazerac de Forge was a bit lackluster, a clearly youthful blend with eaux de…
Back in 2008 we had our first (primitive) encounter with Cognac producer Delamain and its Pale & Dry offering — an XO that stands at the beginning of the operation’s range. The expression dates back to 1920 and is made exclusively from eaux-de-vie of Grande Champagne, matured in 350-litre barrels of old Limousin oak. In…
Cognac Ferrand‘s fourth installment of its Renegade Barrel collection is here. To refresh your memory, these are “anything is possible” barrels which primarily revolve around unusual finishes. Unlike the off-putting Barrel #3, Barrel #4 is not finished in a rum barrel but rather finishes its aging in a tropical climate in Barbados. Note that while…
Did 2025 turn out the way you were expecting it to? The world’s gone so insane that, at this point, I don’t think anything that happens in the next 12 months could possibly surprise us. Did you also get the memo that the alcohol business is in massive decline? Turns out people stopped drinking, just…
We’ve covered many of Martell‘s Cognacs over the years, but its most foundational bottle has eluded us: Martell VS. Note that this is different from Martell VS Single Distillery: Most Cognac is a a blend of eaux-de-vie from dozens of tiny distilleries around the region, but Single Distillery was from one source. This VS is…
Maison Ferrand‘s S.D.A. — Selection des Anges, the angels’ selection — is not a new expression, but the brand has recently retooled it, creating new packaging and upping the proof slightly from 80 to 83.6. We never reviewed the expression in its pre-Covid incarnation, but we’re digging in to a 2021 bottling all the same. It’s…
Hardy is a reliable Cognac producer with some extremely expensive bottlings on the market. Today we’re looking at some more affordable fare, both of which you should find widely and readily available. Both are 80 proof. Hardy VSOP Organic Cognac Review Hardy has had this organic VSOP on the market for years, but we’ve never…
Cognac producer Hine recently released a new expression that is a twist on its previous XO releases: Hine XO 1er Cru — aka Hine XO Premier Cru. The concept is simple: The brandy is a blend of 100% Grand Champagne eaux-de-vie aged for a minimum of 10 years. (Other Hine XO releases have had different…
If you’re a fan of pre-Prohibition cocktails, you’ll see a vast number of recipes that contain either brandy or Cognac. Before whiskey became the common base spirit, people often made their Old Fashioneds with brandy. This drink included a spirit of any kind, a sweetener, and bitters. And with the famous French 75, there is…