The Martell Cordon Bleu Centenary cognac features the infinity sign to represent the figure 100 and is also available as a special edition, presented in a wooden giftcase with silver trims and a magnetite opening system, engraved with key historical dates relating to Martell Cordon Bleu and decorated with 100 silver metallic squares in honour of the occasion. 

The case contains a blue lacquered and silver bottle of Martell Cordon Bleu and a “montre” bottle containing a selection of 100% Borderies cognac specially blended by Martell’s cellar master Benoit Fil. According to the supplier, the montre bottle illustrates the “unique qualities” of the age-old eaux-de-vie from the Borderies region and “will educate consumers on how these confer on Martell Cordon Bleu its finesse and elegance”.

Available this month, they are priced 1,338 Hong Kong Dollars for the Standard Edition, which comes in smart new packaging, and 3,828 Hong Kong Dollars for the Limited Edition, of which only 600 will sold and which also contains a small bottle of Cognac Borderies. The Borderies are the most exclusive growth of the Cognac region and the birthplace of the eaux-de-vie, prized for their aromatic elegance and subtle notes, that form the backbone of Martell Cordon Bleu.

Read more about Martell Cordon Bleu!

This time 6 bottles of 1811 Gran Fine Napoleon Cognac have been submitted. Can it get more special than this?

Story: My family, from Portugal, inherited this box with 12 Bottles of 1811 Gran Fine Napoleon more than a century ago. Six of the bottles were used during important events, such as married and to celebrate the end of dictatorship in Portugal. They still hold 6 bottles as you can see from pictures.

History: From what I could find on the internet, the 1811 vintage was an extraordinary one. Below further information about this vintage. “1811 was regarded at the time as the greatest vintage in living memory, and is now universally held to be the finest vintage of the 19th century throughout the vineyards of Western Europe.

A long hot summer and a warm dry autumn meant an abundant harvest of perfectly ripe grapes, from Bordeaux to Burgundy, from the Rheingau to the vineyards of Tokaji.

In Cognac, the folle blanche reached an unequalled level of perfection, and the distillers knew that they were dealing with a once in a lifetime harvest. In the same year, Napoleon himself visited the region, and was presented with a barrel of cognac as a gift for his young son.

Many ascribed the extraordinary weather to the remarkable astronomical event that had dominated the year – The Great Comet. The comet was visible by astronomers for 17 months, but for two months – September and October 1811, exactly the time grapes were harvested – it was clearly visible to the naked eye, illuminating the night sky with a coma that at one point exceeded the diameter of the sun. It was taken as sign of supernatural blessing on the harvest, which henceforth was known as “The Comet Vintage”.

I was not able to find the origin of the bottles, they would definitely help me price the product appropriately. If you have further information please let the seller know in the comment area below.

The Vintage Collection is attractively presented in a luxurious, uniquely designed orange lacquered wood box and is available in limited and small quantities.

Four vintages are released: 1969, 1970, 1975 and 1988.

These exceptional “eaux de vies” are carefully and personally selected by the A. de Fussigny Master Blender for their rarity, quality, elegance and outstanding aromatic concentration.

Since 1814, A. de Fussigny Cognac is a landmark for quality Cognac. World-famous for its ability to source and select the most exclusive cognacs, A. de Fussigny elected only four vintages to be part of the A. de Fussigny Vintage Collection.

About A de Fussigny Cognac

Founded in 1814 by an Italian merchant named Alfonso Fussini, A. de Fussigny embodies the concepts of innovation, dynamism, modern luxury, and high quality Cognac. A. de Fussigny Cognac is an international cognac brand with distribution in over 45 countries, and listings in domestic markets and duty free.

A. de Fussigny award-winning cognacs include Selection, Superieur Fine Champagne, XO Fine Champagne, XO 24 Carats as well as Vintage collection.
A de Fussigny XO Fine Champagne was recently awarded Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco Wine and Spirits Competition.

Luckily Raymond Ragnaud made the Folle Blache Vintage 2002, and we tasted it at the Vinexpo! It is truly an exceptional Cognac!

This fine and elegant “eau-de-vie” is produced from a rare and old grape variety the “Folle Blanche”.
The “Folle Blanche” is the original cognac grape variety, abandoned after the attack of phylloxera in the late nineteenth century.
The “Folle Blanche” gives incredibly elegant, delicate and perfumed cognacs.
Raymond Ragnaud House only planted 4 ha of this variety in 1994 to produce rare cognac, with aromas so characteristic of fruits and white flowers.
It was harvested in 2002.

Tasting notes:
Sophisticated nose of white flowers, clover, fresh herbs from the mountains.
The palate is on spicy grapes, plum, cherry plum, ginger final, daffodil, cherry Napoleon, tender and fresh at the same time.
This is a soft cognac, not agressive at all with a very special and delicate flower perfume.’

Price:  € 75.00

The use of Cognac ended with the Phylloxera epidemic which devastated French vineyards, which meant that Cognac was very difficult to buy, also the prices increased dramatically in that time. The epidemic, along with the American Civil War, made cognac rather hard to come by, so many bartenders switched the Sazerac recipe to rye whiskey which was still readily available.

Muddle ½ oz. simple syrup, 3 dashes of bitters, 1½ oz. V.S Cognac and ice in a glass. Remove the ice and in a chilled glass pour a small amount of absinthe over the ice. Discard the liquid, and add the flavored ice to the Cognac. Stir and serve!

We prefer using Pierre Ferrand 1840 for this Cognac Cocktail, Pierre Ferrand 1840 offers the taste of Cognacs from before the Phylloxera epidimic.

The first Cognac is the Louis XIII de Remy Martin Grande Champagne Cognac, one of the most exclusive Cognacs available! Exciting!

 

 

Name of bottle: Louis XIII de Remy Martin Grande Champagne Cognac

Written on labels: CARAPE No CR 6503

Story: Bought at local Store. Bottle is Stored in safe place until I determine its age, history and value.

 

Answer

General information about bottle: The highest quality Rémy Martin Cognac on the market today, Louis XIII de Remy Martin has been carefully tended by three generations of Remy Martin cellar masters. The result is a magical combination of savoir-faire, art and patience. Louis XIII de Remy Martin uses only grapes from the Grande Champagne region which guarantees its unique, exclusive quality.

Age: since the package of this Cognac has been sold from mid 80′s till 2005, it is very difficult to say the exact age of the caraffe. The content of all Louis XIII Cognacs is between 40 and 105 years old. As we all know, Cognac will not age in glass.

History: The packaging of Louis XIII shares almost as much history as the Cognac itself. The idea for the glass came from an old bottle found by Emile Rémy Martin on a Jarnac battlefield.

Since then, the carafe has evolved into its distinguished shape, manufactured by Baccarat since 1936. A solid gold collar encases the neck, which is adorned by a signature fleur-de-lys crystal stopper. Its Baroque-style glass and design may have been the inspiration for the name Louis XIII, a French king who ruled during the Baroque era. It is also noted that the Rémy Martin family had close connections with King Louis XIII, which serves as another explanation for the Cognac’s name.

Value: the average price range is $1,900 – $2,500 for a 750 ml bottle of Louis XIII when sold in shops. However on websites such as Ebay, the Louis XIII is sold for around $1,200,-

Cognac has seen a fair share of good marketing. One of the things that we love about past cognac advertisements is how they stay so true as compared to the ads today. They are right to the point and to be honest they are pretty nice to look at. Simple, clean and very appealing, at least to us. We mostly talk about other aspects of cognac like brands, drinking techniques and such but while going through some old ads we though we would feature some of these old ads today in this post. Cognac marketing certainly has come a long way.

Today we bring you 10 Vintage Cognac Advertisements and one that we created which is really simple but had to share.

Frick and Oldbergs Cognac Ad (1903)

Martell Cognac Ad (1925)

Martell Cognac Ad (1929)

Martell’s Three Star Cognac Ad (1934)

Three Star Hennessy Cognac (1936)

Courvoisier Cognac, The Brandy Of Napoleon (1948)

Remy Martin Cognac Ad (1953)

Hennessy Cognac Ad (1957)

Bisquit Cognac Ad (1971)

Courvoisier Cognac Xmas Ad (1975)

There are several ways to drink cognac, personally I prefer to drink it neat at room temperature. Let’s get started with the guide!

1. The first and one of the most important thing when it comes to drinking cognac is to select a proper glass. A Tulip-Shaped wine glass is an ideal choice or a snifter. A snifter is a glass that has a wide bottom and a narrow top which is mostly used to serve brandy. The reason snifter is ideal while drinking cognac is because the narrow top of the snifter will help trap the aroma of cognac inside the glass so you can enjoy each sip. There are quite expensive snifters out there but an inexpensive one will do the trick as well.
2. Now that you have the proper glass its time to get the aged cognac age a little bit more on your hands. Most people pour cognac and start drinking it immediately which is a wrong approach to drinking cognac. To truly enjoy the taste of cognac pour a small amount, preferably 20-25 ML into the snifter and hold the glass for about 6-10 minutes. This allows the cognac to warm slowly and aroma stays in whereas if you start sipping right away it evaporates the aroma.
3. If you buy cognac yourself you can certainly tell how long it has been aged. But if you are served cognac at a party or a gathering you might not know how long it has been aged. There is a simple trick to it. Once you have warmed the cognac, take a look at it and you should be able to tell the age of cognac by looking at the color  (not exactly but pretty close). Lighter colors usually symbolize that the cognac you are holding isn’t aged for too long where as stronger colors such as amber, gold and red suggests that the cognac has been aged longer
4. Now its time to smell it. (You are probably thinking why go through all this when you can simply pour it and start drinking but if you truly want to enjoy one please do follow the procedure.) Now that you are able to tell the age of the cognac you are holding its time to smell the aroma that the snifter has been holding in for you. Life up the snifter slowly close to your nose and smell the aroma which is generally known as “montant odors” (however we prefer using the word “aroma” instead of “odor,” but thats our personal preference ).
5. Now slowly bring the snifter down and swirl the cognac in the snifter. This will help you unleash any aroma that has been trapped and bring the snifter up and smell once again. You will most probably find the smell to be a little stronger than before. Usually cognac has fruit or floral aromas such as rose, pear, cherry, apricot, plum, fig, quince, grapefruit, etc.
6. Now you are ready to take the first sip of the cognac that you have been eagerly waiting for. Make sure to take a small sip and let it slowly pass over the palate. If it is a younger cognac you will feel that the taste is much stronger whereas older cognacs are much smoother and warmer. Once you develop the taste for cognac you will be able to tell what kind it is with your very first sip.

You can drink cognac with tonic, ice and there are many other ways you can mix it, but like I said in the beginning I prefer mine without any mixtures. If you really want to learn and develope a liking for cognac make sure to drink it slow, the key is to sip it not gulp it down.

There are no bottoms up when you are drinking cognac. I personally like my cognac with a cigar and once in a while with chocolate. As you get used to cognac your taste buds will tell you what would go perfect with your glass of cognac.

Hope this guide is helpful and we certainly hope that you give cognac a try (if you are 21 and over) if you haven’t already. We look forward to hearing from you through your comments.

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.

Cognac is one of the best drinks when it comes to your health. For this reason, cognac is also called eaux-de-vie. Water of life…

For the following reasons cognac good when it comes to your health:

1. Cognac is rich in polyphenols, which are naturally in grapes. Polyphenols are anti-inflammatory, protecting the cells against free radicals and reduce the marketing of fatty substances in the blood vessels, causing less atherosclerosis occurs.

2. Cognac is a pure product. It is low in natural sugar and is free from all other additives. French law prohibits additives such as sulfates.

3. The older cognacs such as the XO’s, have great health benefits as they matured in oak casks for many years. Some constituents in oak barrels, such as ellagic acid are important antioxidants.

4. If you ever have a cold, forget to take pills. Cognac helps widen blood vessels and relieves the headache.

5. If you regularly drink cognac (about 15 ml per day), it helps to protect you against heart disease.

To stress the fact that cognac is one of the best medicine if drank in moderation we would like to include a statement from organic-lafragette:

The town of Cognac lies in the department of the Charente where many people live to over the age of one hundred and it appears that life expectancy there is higher than the national average. This appears to be due to the fact that Cognac is drunk there on a daily basis.

Before we end the post, we would like to stress one more time that when we say drinking alcohol is good, we mean in moderation. Anything that is done more than it should can create problems and alcohol is no different. Avoid heavy drinking, avoid driving even if you have had one sip of alcohol and drink moderately. Alcohol is good and will help you live longer and healthier if you drink it in moderation. It’s a fact and not just a myth. Give cognac a try. If you need recommendation feel free to contact us or leave a comment here and we will be glad to help you pick one.

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