Headline

Before we get into the procedure we need to know that “All cognac is brandy but not all brandy is cognac.” Brandy can be made from any fruit from any region but cognac is made only from grapes from the Cognac region in France.
There are several ways to drink cognac, personally I prefer to drink it neat at room temperature. Let’s get started with the guide!

As you already know this blog is all things cognac and alcohol. We love to drink a fine cognac each day if possible.
Drinking every day doesn’t necessarily mean getting drunk, when alcohol is consumed in moderation it can help you live longer. It’s not a myth, numerous medical studies have supported the fact that drinking alcohol in moderation can indeed make you healthier and help you cure certain diseases. To stress the fact that drinking is ok but in moderation, we thought we would talk a bit about it.

Courvoisier just launched a totally new product, called C by Courvoisier!
C by Courvoisier offers an innovative, new option in the cognac category. It’s a intense blend of small-batch-produced cognac specially selected from 50 winegrowers in the Fins Bois Cru and goes through a double-barrel aging process to produce a smooth, full-bodied taste experience.

Last Friday a group of Dutch Cognac enthusiasts were invited at Oldliquors, the company behind the biggest collection exclusive vintage Cognacs. Some cognacs are even dated before 1800!
We had the possibility to taste 10 exclusive Cognacs, an event we will never forget in our life… In this post we will share some pictures of the event. Reviews of the tasted Cognacs will published in the next weeks.

The Last Drop Distillers Limited announced their second release; this time just 487 bottles, the remaining contents of two casks that had been ageing in their little chais deep in the Charente region of France since 1950.
 
It has, says Tom Jago, one of the founders, what they always seek and seldom find, great maturity combined with youthful freshness. It is, he claims, ‘as perfect as a distilled spirit can get’.

It is widely believed that it is correct to warm the Cognac contained in a balloon glass in the hollow of the hand. There is even an element of snobbery attaching to the procedure.
Professional tasters, while allowing everyone to drink his Brandy as he pleases, disapprove strongly this method.
It has, indeed, one serious disadvantage: the more superior it’s quality, the more strongly does the warmed brandy give off a powerful aroma which induces a real anesthesia of the faculties of taste and smell.

It’s a mouthful, Rémy Martin VSOP Matured Cask Finish, the new VSOP Cognac of Rémy Martin’s in Europe. The well-known mat-green bottle will be replaced with this newcomer.
In the beginning I found it very hard to accept the fact that the beloved VSOP will be replaced, but after seeing the bottle and tasting the new VSOP Matured Cask Finish I think it is a good step by Rémy.

He unlocks the door and I follow him into a cool, faintly lit room with ancient beams and red tiles. Rows and rows of dusty bottles of cognac, armagnac, port, chartreuse and other liquors stand proudly together on the many shelves like an army of old friends, their heads dripping wax as if they’ve just emerged from a snowstorm. I can sense we’re in a special place.

The Martell Chanteloup Perspective is now official and we have some more information and tasting notes about it.
This new Martell product is specially made for China and for the travel retail (i.e. at Schiphol Airport).

Hennessy Pure White is on the market for some while in the Caribbean (Bahamas, Antigua, Aruba, Jamaica) and some countries in Europe.
The bottle states that it is made from “the finest white grapes” and that it expresses the “qualities of the white wines from which it is produced.”  The classic white “Cognac” grapes: ugni blanc, folle blanche and colombard find their way into nearly all cognacs.  So, there is nothing special here….