Cognac, anyone?

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kaaskop49

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We've had some great threads of late on Scotch and bourbon whiskies, expensive cigars, Rolex watches, and other staples without which life would be less agreeable. Is there any interest among the membership for a Cognac thread?

My favorite for years was Hine "Antique," which was delightful, but lost much of it's character when it's producers added the XO designation to the label (which it merited). I'd be interested in seeing what cognac other shooters might prefer, especially any outside the "Big Four": Courvoisier, Hennessey, Martel and Remy Martin. Shooters?

Kaaskop49
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I'm a regular "Big Four" cognac drinker but I had a memorable experience several years ago. I was living in the Chicago area at the time very much into wine and knew one of the big distributors. I stopped by his place one morning and he had a couple of bottles of vintage cognac which is very rare in itself and seldom put up. One I remember well was from 1947 and the other was a late 19th century bottling. We tried them both and he 19th century example while still drinkable was pretty faded. The 47 vintage on the other hand was in marvelous condition and a pleasure to sip on! I unfortunately don't remember the name.
One of my ongoing favorites is de Montal!

Jim
 

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Martells Cordon Bleu please:D

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kaaskop49 said:
We've had some great threads of late on Scotch and bourbon whiskies, expensive cigars, Rolex watches, and other staples without which life would be less agreeable. Is there any interest among the membership for a Cognac thread?

My favorite for years was Hine "Antique," which was delightful, but lost much of it's character when it's producers added the XO designation to the label (which it merited). I'd be interested in seeing what cognac other shooters might prefer, especially any outside the "Big Four": Courvoisier, Hennessey, Martel and Remy Martin. Shooters?

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
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There is IF you still have my address?:D I want a bottle of Corvosier please.:D
 
Ah Kaas, you bring back memories of living in Alaska. A very popular drink there and one of my favorites is called the "Moose Milk". It was then a double shot of Courvoisier in 4 to 6 oz. of regular cow milk with a sprinkle of Nutmeg over the top. It was a great way to end any evening or an after dinner drink. My mouth is watering. I think I will run over to the local liquor store and get a bottle. ............
 
gregintenn said:
I've never tried it. Is it similar to any other spirit? Is it like a strong white wine? I never cared much for wine.
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NO, it is not like white wine. But it is DISTILLED from a white wine, the Pineau (Pinot?) de Charente. I'm among the few Americans to have drunk that parent wine. It is unpleasant as wine, but ideal for making into brandy.

Cognac (and Armagnac) are brandies made in legally defined regions of France. BTW, VSOP on a label means Very Special Old Pale. No, I don't know why it's an English abb.

I have asthma, and a pulmonologist warned me that all brandy is a potent bronchial irritant, so I gave it up.

Brandy is added to real sherry, made only by the solera method in Spain, to "fortify" it, but I had less wheezing from sherry.

When I drank brandy, Christian Bros. had a good one, and South African brandy is supposed to be good. They make good fake sherry there too, and some really good wine...since 1655! The better wines are the usual varietals that you'd know from France and Germany. Plus Pinotage, a blend of Pinot noir and Hermitage.

Cognac is famed as the ultimate smooth brandy. If it doesn't irritate your lungs, it can be quite enjoyable.

However, don't expect to smoke cigars at a formal wine tasting. You'd be as welcome as ants at the picnic. And don't look for Pineau de Charente at your wine shop. I had the opportunity to try it at a tasting organized by a wine professional who'd got his hands on some via trade channels. I've never seen it in a store.

BTW, the old name for brandy was brandywijn. (sp?) That was used around the time of our Revolution, in case you see references to it from then. And in Shakespeare's day, sherry was called "sack" or Xeres sack. Xeres is the Old Spanish spelling for Jerez, the region where sherry is made.

Don't drink cheap "cooking" sherry or cook with it. Use the real stuff. Good shippers include Pedro Domecq and Harvey's of Bristol.

I lack time now to explain why wine was originally distilled into brandy, but it's interesting. Get a book or look it up on the Net, if possible.
 
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I drink Courvoisier, mainly because of its availability. I really like Camus; the Ft Bliss Class 6 store had some a few years ago, but that was all. Even Specs doesn't have it any more. I have a bottle of Pierre Ferrand which tastes pretty good: got it at Specs.
 
gregintenn said:
I've never tried it. Is it similar to any other spirit? Is it like a strong white wine? I never cared much for wine.
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It's hard liquor. Like whiskey or brandy or vodka. Anything with sugar can be made into hard liquor. Cognac is made from grape. If you've had Brandy youve had Cognac. It's the same thing but the name Cognac is copyrighted. Only spirits that come from the cognac region in France can be called that.

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Not really into Congacs, especially the mass produced. I'll sometimes pick up a bottle of Hine, Paul Beau 30 year old, Comandon XO. But I don't drink it often so a bottle or two a year isn't a big deal. My preferred liquor is Tequila

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Rpg said:
My very favorite alcohol is Courvoisier VSOP.

If I could afford it, it's all I'd drink.

Unfortunately...
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Last time I checked price on a bottle of the stuff I had before-was 18 years ago and the price was $150.00:eek:
 
Arik said:
It's hard liquor. Like whiskey or brandy or vodka. Anything with sugar can be made into hard liquor. Cognac is made from grape. If you've had Brandy youve had Cognac. It's the same thing but the name Cognac is copyrighted. Only spirits that come from the cognac region in France can be called that.
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To just expand on this a little bit:

Most basically, we distinguish fermented (beer/wine) and distilled (spirits) alcoholic drinks. If you want to distill something, you have to ferment it first, since distillation doesn't produce any alcohol at all, it just concentrates it.

If you start with grains, you get whiskey. Scotch, bourbon and rye are examples of subcategories.

If you start with fruits, you get brandy. Cognac, armagnac, slivovitz, and grappa are examples of subcategories.

If you start with sugarcane, you get rum.

If you start with anything that can be fermented, and distill and filter the heck out of it until there's no flavor but ethanol left, you have vodka.

Tequila/mescal is a special case since it is made from a plant, the agave, but uses the body of the plant, not a fruit, so strictly speaking it does not qualify as a brandy.

The end of Liquor 101 ;) .
 
Absalom said:
To just expand on this a little bit:

Most basically, we distinguish fermented (beer/wine) and distilled (spirits) alcoholic drinks. If you want to distill something, you have to ferment it first, since distillation doesn't produce any alcohol at all, it just concentrates it.

If you start with grains, you get whiskey. Scotch, bourbon and rye are examples of subcategories.

If you start with fruits, you get brandy. Cognac, armagnac, slivovitz, and grappa are examples of subcategories.

If you start with sugarcane, you get rum.

If you start with anything that can be fermented, and distill and filter the heck out of it until there's no flavor but ethanol left, you have vodka.

Tequila/mescal is a special case since it is made from a plant, the agave, but uses the body of the plant, not a fruit, so strictly speaking it does not qualify as a brandy.

The end of Liquor 101 ;) .
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I'm just impressed that you know Slivovitz! Not saying your dumb or anything just that most people don't know of it


I also like fermented cabbage but that's a whole other (stinky) topic!
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Cyrano said:
I drink Courvoisier, mainly because of its availability. I really like Camus; the Ft Bliss Class 6 store had some a few years ago, but that was all. Even Specs doesn't have it any more. I have a bottle of Pierre Ferrand which tastes pretty good: got it at Specs.
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Pierre Ferrand, in all grades, is really top notch. You have good taste!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
 
Delamain Vesper, when I can afford it, which is not often. Otherwise, Hennessy XO, when I can afford it, which is still not often. What ends up in my Cognac glass most often is Remy VSOP, but it's really not anything like the XOs and their betters, so I tend to default to Scotch because I can afford (most of) the good ones there.
 
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