OMG! How is that possible? Hidden away in my cellar, disclosed here only because it is anonymous (sort of), there is a bottle or two of marc and a couple of grappa too. They are all homemade by friends and neighbors from the South of France.

Cognac is produced in an industrial, multi-distillation and blending process then aged on oak casks. Cognac is sweeter than many other brandies and is roughly equivalent to a blended whisky. Production is dominated by subsidiaries of large multinational drinks companies.

http://www.chiff.com/wine/europe/cognac.htm

Armagnac is an artisanal product that uses a single distillation normally from a single vintage of grapes. As such, poor Armagnac is hardly potable, while the best Armagnac is stunningly refined in taste and texture. Nearly all Armagnac sold in the US is of the poorer, cheaper varieties. The decent stuff is hard to find. Even the large producers are quite small and most are family producers. Armagnac can be compared to single malt whisky.

http://www.bbr.com/whiskies/armagnac

There seem to be a few misconceptions floating around this thread so I include a couple references just to try to be balanced.

To be really clear, if you want a cheap french brandy drink Cognac. the worst Cognac will not completely destroy your psyche. Do not drink a cheap Armagnac if you happen upon one. That may cause unrecoverable damage to your taste buds and/or intestinal system.

Cognac can never reach the heights of Armagnac, but it can never quite reach the depths either. Thus those among us who drink Armagnac can be found drinking the odd marc or grappa just to prove we have had taste from time to time.:D:D

jbcarioca - my hero - and a true understanding of armagnac. And a man with a cellar ... but no map was provided?!

Important stuff. Are there stairs? I'm OK going down ... but sometimes coming back up sometime later isn't as safe. I keep my grappa alongside all the other stuff IN THE WINE FRIDGE.

Someone else has just mentioned calvados .........:)

I am blushing! Ah, Calvados. My spouse is a Calvados fan, as am I. We have a decent collection of that also. Most of ours came from a small shop in Mougins that was established by Roger Vergé

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moulin_de_Mougins

He, with an assistant named Alain Ducasse taught both of us most of what we know about food and drink. I had never heard of Calvados or Armagnac in 1978 when they began to teach us. Like the great chefs they are there was never a bit of condescension as they taught us things anybody should already have known. I admire them both immensely for their talent and dedication as well as their humanity.

Oh, but the subject was to be Calvados. My favorite today is a bottle of 1948 Camut that we acquired for my spouses birthday, one of two such that we bought from Mr. Vergé's shop. The remaining one is delectable.

Calvados is to Applejack as a Mercedes Benz SLS AMG is to a Hyundai Accent.

My favorite Calvados reference is this one: http://www.calvadosbook.com/index.php

Unluckily my SL is of the plain 500 black flavour ..... not an AMG!?

Funilly enough my last temporary armagnac buddy was just down the road in St Jean Cap Ferat. A decent enough shlep from Beaulieu. He (and his very anti non-French speaking wife) has The Sloop on the waters edge and seems to have more armagnac than wine.

I am a big fan of Pierre Ferrand Ambre.

OMFG. I can only imagine what that nose would be like. I'd probably have my face in the glass all night!

Armagnac and Calvados fan here, with a smattering of Marc, although that's pretty hard to come by. I also like Germain-Robin quite a bit; my favorite was the single-barrel brandy made from pinot noir.

As do I. I missed the opportunity to try the pinot noir sb. My loss, I am sure. I have no more G-R, and it is not available here, so I must find it on my next trip to a good US city where it is sold.

I really enjoy a warm cognac to sip on with a slice of pecan pie, fruit compote, etc. It opens up the taste buds really well and you can taste a real depth of flavor in the fruits and nuts of the dessert.

Has anyone tried A.E. Dor Cognac? This house has a range of 19th century vintage cognacs in its cellars which date from between 1893 and 1805. There is a regular range (VSOP, XO etc.) and a range entitled Vielle Reserve.

I'd never had cognac so last year during a very memorable dinner with my Father we each ordered a glass of Remy Martin VSOP. Sadly, it wasn't for me. But the experience of sitting across from the man I love and respect and try to emulate as much as possible sipping on the liquor in the fancy glass was worth it ^

I had their No. 11 a few years ago, which is a blend of unspecified age but over 70 years; quite nice but it struck me as Paradis quality, no better. No idea about the price, but I saw their 1805 vintage bottle at auction for USD 4000.

I don't think I could drink anything I paid so much for, and if I did drink it I'd be feeling guilty about it later.

I agree.

It has also always seemed strange to me that the very people who would value terroir in good wine for example or good olive oil - think that brandy is improved the greater the degree of refinement!

To me, zivania's, grappas, armagnacs, calvados etc give good terroir and to me you feel a closer attatchment to it's terroir and people origins. Much of the expensive brandy I have drunk seems to have had the "land" removed.

Anyone share these views - or violently disagree?

I went to China for the first time three weeks ago and was very surprised by the way they serve wine and cognac...

Actually, whereas you are served very little wine (tenth of the glass) when you order some (even chinese so-called "wine"), if you order some cognac, you will have a big full glass !

Interestingly enough, my flight back was being operated by China Southwest Airlines with an Air France codeshare... After being dispointed by the service onboard, I have been pleased by the fact that they have the same habits than in inland China concerning cognac : I was in business class and they served me very big glasses of cognac (with ice until I asked to remove it !) just as it was orange juice...

Despite the less confortable seats, I finally slept as well as in Air France planes ;)

I work as a wine and spirits agent and heartily agree with you. You should also include single malt scotch as an example of a spirit that has an attachment to the terroir (Islay, Speyside, Lowlands etc.). Consider for a moment that Cognac is marketed by the big houses as a house style as is Champagne. While the terroir may have been removed from the expensive Cognacs, the cost of marketing has been added.

Armagnac has three zones, Bas-Armagnac, Tenareze and Haut-Armagnac. Both the traditional columnar still and the pot still are used but the columnar still predominates. I have one supplier that has two regional versions of their 1979 Armagnac, one from Bas-Armagnac and the other from Tenareze so there is the possibility of seeing differences in terroir. This supplier only uses the columnar still. Armagnac also allows up to ten different varieties of grapes in the blend unlike Cognac which allows only four. Some Armagnac houses produce single varietal distillations so one can appreciate the characteristics of the grape.

Calvados has three A.O.C.s, Calvados, Calvados Pays d'Auge and Calvados Domfrontais. What is really interesting is that Calvados and Calvados Domfrontais are distilled once in a columnar still but Calvados Pays d'Auge is required to be distilled twice in a pot still. Calvados Domfrontais however is required to have at least 30% pears in the mix. Also, there is a difference in the soils between Pays d'Auge and Domfrontais.

Thanks for your post which I found informative. I forgot single malts which I absolutely adore. You can taste the mist and the peat ...... and ... am I going mad ... you can feel the frost .....

As a further example on the Scotch debate, I could never bring myself to buy Johny Walker Blue Label simply to try, but those lovely BA people serve it in F and I've tried it a few times. It makes no sense to me. It's a blend. Of course it is and I knew it. But I was suprised by it's charecter-less qualities and harshness and I was really dissapointed. I don't "get it" at all and it made me wish that BA would spend a similar amount on a small-distiliary single malt.

They do: BA provides an 18-yo single malt in F (but it is not as good as JW Blue!). One of the dangers of non-blends; better in good years, worse in bad years. Ah, the yoys of terroir and variability .....

Thanks yes .... but I said "it made me wish that BA would spend a similar amount ". I remember the malt but not the name and it was from memory a comparatively inexpensive one. I see it as an opportunity for them to acquire something we wouldn't normally see perhaps a smaller more exclusive distiliary ie the stuff that now seems to go to China or Japan.

I understand the terroir argument. The trade off between blending out character for consistency and character/inconsistency is one that most people accept every year when they buy chateau grown wines.

I certainly didn't get Blue at all it seemed harsh and cheap tasting which I guess just shows up my lack of refinement and peasantry. If I hadn't known the price I'd certainly never have guessed it.

Anyone else here enjoy the Remy 1738? Its been one of my favs lately. Hate to bring this thread from the dead but saw the scotch thread so searched for a cognac thread

Yes, it's one of my favorites; and at an amazing price point.

Recently added a "new blond" cognac to the collection.

A brilliant product filling the void between VSOP and XO and they picked a nice "candy" blend (graham cracker/marshmallow flavour) that suits modern tastes. Personally I prefer a heavier style such as Otard or Camus at similar price point, or if spending double then the Camus Extraordinaire is great value in the super-XO class.

I'll have to get my hands on a bottle of Camus. Is the extraordinaire as expensive as the Remy XO?

Definitely not in Europe, don't know about the other side of the pond. Hennessy XO and Rémy are the more costly options (both my favourite XOs!).

One of our large local liquor stores received the Louis XIII Rare Cask 42.6. $22k each bottle!

http://blog.chron.com/beertx/2013/09...in/#16072101=0

The last time I went in, they only had one left. I believe they got 6 of them. Pretty nuts to spend $22k on one bottle.

That's crazy. My finest cognac moment was having Louis XIII from a 50 year old bottle. Fortunately I don't know the cost!

Yep, you can't go wrong with either one of them. When I was Gold, I used to be able to get Remy XO as my free drink. I gladly took that over the points. ^

http://goo.gl/8z6dhi

http://goo.gl/upm4ar
http://goo.gl/i0OK5g

I have had both, the '74 is better and better yet if you are in the area is the '64 from below. I bought 4 bottles.


Domaine de Beauregard
Millésime 1980
Monsieur DAUCHEZ, 354 route de Beauregard - 40270 CASTANDET
Tel: 05.58.44.05.32

I am a big fan of Frapin Chateau Fontpinot, a lot cheaper than the totally overpriced Remy and Hennessy XO.

Hennessy XO is one of my favorites. Paradis is even better.

I think Paul Giraud is superb and well priced. I also like Camus, Martell, and many others.

I never had the Paradis but have heard it was great.

It is fantastic. I pick it up sometimes at duty free as an indulgence, or as a special gift for someone.

I don't know which program's Gold status you are referring to, but Remy XO certainly is not a bad free drink to receive!

I'd guess SPG.

Fully agreed - Hennessy Paradis is great. Richard is overpriced imo. I haven't tried Ellips, sadly.

Just stumbled on this thread which is unfortunate as I've been in the Charente (Maritime version - a.k.a dept 17) for the past month+. Seems pineau de charente is the favored drink here as 5/6th of Cognac production is exported (and not that much available either - locals seem to prefer scottish whiskey for new years by a long mile). Been drinking the local bois ordinaire stuff as I am out near the coast and not inland where the vaunted Grand and Petit champagne areas are.

There was one location (won't be named) that was able to give it to me as SPG gold. I think it's only supposed to be a free drink up to $10 but the bartender always took care of me. ^

I had a chance to buy a bottle of Cognac Lheraud - Vieille Reserve du Paradis at a very special price many years ago. To me this is still the most memorable cognac experience. The hand made bottle now empty is still in a cupboard... The current price of about EUR 350 is fair in relation to the quality, so if you have a chance to buy one, go ahead, you won't regret it.

Armagnac is IMHO always a better taste for the buck, besides it almost always is a vintage, wheras Cognac always is a blend

It is a step up, price varies by country. I usually buy it in ICN duty free where it is often available "on special" for about USD 200. Remy XO is about 2/3 that price (USD 130 typically). Supply of the Extraordinaire is limited but well worth the price differential and difficulty of sourcing.

The true lovers of congnac might kill me now but the only way I drink cognac so far is putting it in my coffee ;)

Yes, our Albanian hit men are on their way already...
:p