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
As Benedicte Hardy likes to tell it, when she took the helm of Hardy Cognac nearly 30 years ago, Cognac was in a very different place compared to today. There was little international education around the spirit. A post-millennium cocktail revolution had yet to break the Cognac from its perception as an after-dinner drink for…
Independent bottling isn’t just for whiskey and rum, La Maison & Velier is bringing the idea to fine brandies from Cognac, all bottled under the Through the Grapevine label. Each of the six Cognacs in this line are designed to showcase smaller producers, a few of which I’ve never even heard of before. We received…
I picked up this bottling during my recent trip to Cognac, as it’s normally an Asia-only exclusive that I’d never even heard of before. (You can track it down stateside if you try, though.) A blend of 70% Grande Champagne and 30% Petite Champagne eaux de vie, aging extends for to up to 20 years.…
Our final day in Cognac took us to one of my all-time favorite producers, Camus, which is a smaller producer but considerably larger than Maison Ferrand. (Camus grows its own grapes for about 35-40 percent of its production.) Camus is unique in that is centered around Borderies, the north-of-the-river part of Cognac that showcases a…
After a whirlwind day with a small producer, I thought we should contrast that with one of the biggest producers in the Cognac business. At last count Rémy Martin was the #2 producer of Cognac, battling out for that spot with Martell and Courvousier, who are all neck and neck and tend to hand the…
To know Cognac the spirit is to know Cognac the place. Cognac is the product of a minuscule region, rigorously protected by law and produced here and only here for centuries. This tiny town in the west of France is fully built by, for, and around the production of the world’s most famous brandy. “Without…
We’ve reviewed countless special editions from iconic Cognac producer Hennessy over the years, but its core line has strangely eluded our pen. Today we begin to rectify that with a look at two stalwarts of Hennessy’s core line: VS and XO. Both are 80 proof. Hennessy VS Cognac – The entry level Hennessy is…
The Year of the Rabbit officially began on January 22, and to mark the occasion our friends at Maison Ferrand have put together a special edition of Ferrand’s 10 Generations Cognac bottling. This one — which features a dramatic, red label — undergoes a second round of aging in Port wine casks (for an undetermined…
We’re way behind on reviewing the standard edition expressions of Cognac from Remy Martin, but today we take a step toward remedying that with a look at the iconic Remy Martin XO, once of the most widely available and consumed XO brandies on the market. Remy Martin XO Cognac Review As Cognac goes, it’s about…
When they said Covid was over, we didn’t think we’d be summarily dropped into a new financial crisis to replace the one we just got out of. The good news is that the holidays have arrived just in time to provide a welcome (if brief) break from yet another year of chaos. At Drinkhacker, we…