Cognac/Armagnac Thread

[arild]

No idea about US availability, but Delamain cognacs are usually extremely tasty.

[Tye 1on]

bump----thinking of taking a bottle of Armagnac to a low-key Christmas dinner. Hostess said I should just bring a bottle of wine. So I've got two good Nero D'Avola's for dinner and 12 great IPA's for before, but want to take it up another notch, these are ten of my best-drinking dirtbag friends. I've had some decent cognac, but thought it would be fun to mix it up a bit w/Armagnac. Have a line on a bottle of either Larressingle VSOP or Marie Duffau Napoleon, also 6-year/VSOP, both in the $40-50 range. Any insights from the dentists?

[Skidog]

I don't know if they make an armagnac but I like Pierre ferrand congac.

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[JimmyCarter]

Just picked up a Kirkland XO cognac, which so far seems well worth the 50 bucks. Bring it over in a decanter if they're snobs.

[irul&ublo]

No idea about US availability, but Delamain cognacs are usually extremely tasty.

Delamain Pale & Dry. One of my favorites

[Skidog]

Delamain Pale & Dry. One of my favorites

Also very good

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[dan_pdx]

Hardy Legend 1863 was recommended to me by a local liquor store clerk. It's only about $45 here in Oregon; the clerk told me it punches above its weight, and I agree. I think Santa is going to bring me another bottle in a few weeks.

http://www.hardycognac.fr/eng/collec...28-legend-1863

[XXX-er]

used to put B & B in the flask for skiing

[dan_pdx]

Just getting to the end of a bottle of Cognac Park Borderies. It takes my wife and I about a year to get through a bottle of cognac, so picking the next bottle is kind of a big deal. I wanted to go browse in a big liquor store with well-informed clerks, but, well, I guess I'm not in Portland anymore. I couldn't find any brick/mortar liquor stores in Spokane that have a cognac selection that goes much beyond Remy-Martin, Courvoisier, and Hennessy.

However, it turns out there are a lot of French etailers who are willing to help me out. I have a bottle of Audrey XO and a bottle of "Francois Voyer Napoleon Grande Champagne Cognac" on the way, will report back on the results.

[MontuckyFried]

Just getting to the end of a bottle of Cognac Park Borderies. It takes my wife and I about a year to get through a bottle of cognac, so picking the next bottle is kind of a big deal. I wanted to go browse in a big liquor store with well-informed clerks, but, well, I guess I'm not in Portland anymore. I couldn't find any brick/mortar liquor stores in Spokane that have a cognac selection that goes much beyond Remy-Martin, Courvoisier, and Hennessy.

However, it turns out there are a lot of French etailers who are willing to help me out. I have a bottle of Audrey XO and a bottle of "Francois Voyer Napoleon Grande Champagne Cognac" on the way, will report back on the results.

While on your journey for a good cognac, don't overlook Ukrainian brandies!!! There are actually quite a few of them out there, so they're really not hard to find if you go to shops with good selections. In support of the country, some of my local stores have even made a separate Made in Ukraine section full of vodkas, brandies, and wines. My beloved Shevkoff is still my favorite for the money. Wife and I go through about a bottle a month. Odd how there's scant information about online, though. I'm half convinced it's just rebottled black market Louis. Haha. Freaking great stuff for ~$20-25/bottle.

[irul&ublo]

While on your journey for a good cognac, don't overlook Ukrainian brandies!!! There are actually quite a few of them out there, so they're really not hard to find if you go to shops with good selections. In support of the country, some of my local stores have even made a separate Made in Ukraine section full of vodkas, brandies, and wines. My beloved Shevkoff is still my favorite for the money. Wife and I go through about a bottle a month. Odd how there's scant information about online, though. I'm half convinced it's just rebottled black market Louis. Haha. Freaking great stuff for ~$20-25/bottle.

Tha bomb

[Buster Highmen]

http://www.hinecognac.com/

[spanky]

Just getting to the end of a bottle of Cognac Park Borderies. It takes my wife and I about a year to get through a bottle of cognac, so picking the next bottle is kind of a big deal. I wanted to go browse in a big liquor store with well-informed clerks, but, well, I guess I'm not in Portland anymore. I couldn't find any brick/mortar liquor stores in Spokane that have a cognac selection that goes much beyond Remy-Martin, Courvoisier, and Hennessy.

However, it turns out there are a lot of French etailers who are willing to help me out. I have a bottle of Audrey XO and a bottle of "Francois Voyer Napoleon Grande Champagne Cognac" on the way, will report back on the results.

Speaking of Remy Martin, I had the opportunity to attend a tasting of their Louis XIII Cognac. I’m no connoisseur, but I thought it was quite good. Although, you won’t catch me buying it.

[MontuckyFried]

Speaking of Remy Martin, I had the opportunity to attend a tasting of their Louis XIII Cognac. I’m no connoisseur, but I thought it was quite good. Although, you won’t catch me buying it.

Lovely! Louis is indeed fantastic. I still use the decanter, but I just keep refilling it with my cheap Shevkoff. Haha. Gotta get my money's worth out of the thing, right?

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[irul&ublo]

Speaking of Remy Martin, I had the opportunity to attend a tasting of their Louis XIII Cognac. I’m no connoisseur, but I thought it was quite good. Although, you won’t catch me buying it.

Buddy of mine was a liquor salesman for Southern, which had the Remy distribution for Sacto. There was a little strip club, Club 400, with a big display bottle of Louis XIII, behind the bar, selling for huge dollars per shot. Funny thing was, that for all the years he serviced the 400, the level of brandy in the bottle went up and down; but he never sold the 400 any Louis.

[spanky]

Buddy of mine was a liquor salesman for Southern, which had the Remy distribution for Sacto. There was a little strip club, Club 400, with a big display bottle of Louis XIII, behind the bar, selling for huge dollars per shot. Funny thing was, that for all the years he serviced the 400, the level of brandy in the bottle went up and down; but he never sold the 400 any Louis.

I’m sure there’s a lot of that going around. I’m pretty confident this was legit as it was presented/poured by a rep from Remy Martin.

[spanky]

Lovely! Louis is indeed fantastic. I still use the decanter, but I just keep refilling it with my cheap Shevkoff. Haha. Gotta get my money's worth out of the thing, right?

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Supposedly, an empty bottle will fetch a few hundred. When you’re done refilling it, look to sell it!

[dan_pdx]

While on your journey for a good cognac, don't overlook Ukrainian brandies!!! There are actually quite a few of them out there, so they're really not hard to find if you go to shops with good selections. In support of the country, some of my local stores have even made a separate Made in Ukraine section full of vodkas, brandies, and wines. My beloved Shevkoff is still my favorite for the money. Wife and I go through about a bottle a month. Odd how there's scant information about online, though. I'm half convinced it's just rebottled black market Louis. Haha. Freaking great stuff for ~$20-25/bottle.

Thanks for the Shevkoff rec, that would be just up my alley (good, cheap, and as a bonus, supports Ukraine). I just poked around online and didn't find anything, but next time I'm in a bigger liquor store, I'll keep an eye out.

[MontuckyFried]

Supposedly, an empty bottle will fetch a few hundred. When you’re done refilling it, look to sell it!

They sure do. However, I'm hanging on to it until I can pony up for another bottle. Still have the clamshell case and everything. Store I bought it from said they treat it like a deposit, and I can turn it back in at any time for $500 credit toward another bottle. I don't know how true this is, but the store clerk said they send them back to Remy who pays them back or something like that. I bought my first bottle as a frivolous reward after paying off a ton of debt, having a decent amount of money in the bank, and achieving a modicum of success in life. I've since crashed and burned, so it's a life goal of mine to get back on top of that little mountain and when I do, will buy another bottle to memorialize the occasion. It's damn good, but I'm not quite convinced it's "worth" the current prices as it's basically doubled in price since I bought mine, but it's symbolic for me more than anything.

[MontuckyFried]

Buddy of mine was a liquor salesman for Southern, which had the Remy distribution for Sacto. There was a little strip club, Club 400, with a big display bottle of Louis XIII, behind the bar, selling for huge dollars per shot. Funny thing was, that for all the years he serviced the 400, the level of brandy in the bottle went up and down; but he never sold the 400 any Louis.

Ha! That's hilarious. I can absolutely see a strip club pulling those shenanigans on unwitting drunk patrons pretending to be ballers in front of their friends. Probably the same chumps ordering bottle service of Cristal, paying $1000+/bottle for what would be sub-$200 at the store."

Thanks for the Shevkoff rec, that would be just up my alley (good, cheap, and as a bonus, supports Ukraine). I just poked around online and didn't find anything, but next time I'm in a bigger liquor store, I'll keep an eye out.

You got it! Don't know if they deliver across state lines (they might!), but this is my local source for the stuff. Just ran out last night, so thanks for the reminder. Will pick up a fresh bottle (or 6) today. Haha.
https://specsonline.com/shop/spirits...f-xo-brandy-2/
FWIW, their vodkas are also quite good, but kinda on the spendy side as far as vodka is concerned.

[dan_pdx]

You got it! Don't know if they deliver across state lines (they might!), but this is my local source for the stuff. Just ran out last night, so thanks for the reminder. Will pick up a fresh bottle (or 6) today. Haha.
https://specsonline.com/shop/spirits...f-xo-brandy-2/
FWIW, their vodkas are also quite good, but kinda on the spendy side as far as vodka is concerned.

Yeah, looks like they don't deliver to WA or OR. I wish that we could just get over that and make domestic booze shipments unrestricted. Maybe that can be a legislative priority for 2023 when everything else is gridlocked.

Re: Louis XIII, I've definitely never been in a spot in my life where I would feel OK spending that kind of money...but even if I had the money, I have a grudge against Remy Martin. The company I worked for did a project for them awhile back and the vendor manager on the Remy side was such an enormous asshat that I swore off their products forever. Basically came back at the end of the project - which he'd been involved in / signed off at every step of the way - and said it wasn't what they wanted. Told him we'd delivered exactly what was promised in the RFP (we had), and he had some bullshit line like "well, you can't expect me to know all your technical language". Maybe you shouldn't be signing contracts then. Anyway, Shevkoff over Remy for me any day.

[MontuckyFried]

Yeah, looks like they don't deliver to WA or OR. I wish that we could just get over that and make domestic booze shipments unrestricted. Maybe that can be a legislative priority for 2023 when everything else is gridlocked.

Bummer. Wish I could just ship you a bottle myself. Wonder how I can smuggle it up there for ya. Haha

Re: Louis XIII, I've definitely never been in a spot in my life where I would feel OK spending that kind of money...but even if I had the money, I have a grudge against Remy Martin. The company I worked for did a project for them awhile back and the vendor manager on the Remy side was such an enormous asshat that I swore off their products forever. Basically came back at the end of the project - which he'd been involved in / signed off at every step of the way - and said it wasn't what they wanted. Told him we'd delivered exactly what was promised in the RFP (we had), and he had some bullshit line like "well, you can't expect me to know all your technical language". Maybe you shouldn't be signing contracts then. Anyway, Shevkoff over Remy for me any day.

Aww, that sucks. Maybe they're like the Ferrari of the liquor world. Similarly douchy snobs. So yeah, Shevkoff > Remy it is, then. It is damn near as good anyway. Seriously. It's like 90-95% the flavor for like 1% the cost. One day, I want to do a blind A/B test. Maybe throw a few more brands/varieties in the mix to really throw me off and make sure.

[MontuckyFried]

Welp. My supply of my beloved Shevkoff brandy has officially dried up. (F U, Putin!!!) So, I'm branching out once again. Manager at my usual store suggested getting into Armenian brandies saying they make some that are QUITE good and have super flown under the radar.

My first one I tried per his suggestion is Teryan XO. An 8 year Brandy. It's perhaps sweeter and has more flavor packed in than my usual, but I'm enjoying the variety. I'd buy another, and at right under $30 locally, it's a downright bargain. Great looking, high quality feeling bottle too! Give it a shot if you find it! You guys know of any other Armenian Brandies that should be on my radar? This region is a whole new foray for me.

Here's a review:
https://www.drinkhacker.com/2023/02/...y-8-years-old/

Armenia is one of the great, unsung brandy-producing regions of the world. This newly imported bottling is produced at Proshyan Distillery, one of the oldest distilleries in the country, founded in 1885. The brandy is made from the Mskhali and Kangun grapes, which come from the Ararat, Armavir, and Vayots Dzor regions. It is aged for 8 years in 400 liter oak barrels and bottled in a fetching, oval-shaped decanter. Let’s give it a whirl.

Like most Armenian brandies, Teryan offers a rich depth of flavor that you won’t find in most French or American brandies. Aromatic with notes of cola and baking spice, it’s immersive right away, almost evoking coffee, sprinkled with cinnamon. The palate sees a lot of the same elements, but the backdrop is one of gentle sweetness, almost coming across like cola syrup — quite soft, with lots of vanilla, milk chocolate, and a note of maraschino cherry. There’s no sense of bite in the brandy, that soft character really working to keep smoldering down low as a mild, supple experience, with a slight touch of clove-dusted oak on the finish.

It’s a full-on straight-shooter, but you can’t go wrong at this price.

Another review: https://livingthegourmet.com/2022/10...an-brandy.html

[Grange]

I would like to explore cognac more, but the selection around here is poor. As mentioned earlier Kirkland XO cognac is pretty good for the cost. I did buy my father St. Remy VSOP a while back as a gift and for the price it was really good.

I've tried 25 year Delord Bas Armagnac and for the price around here ($70 on sale) it was a nice pour.

[MontuckyFried]

I would like to explore cognac more, but the selection around here is poor.

Have you considered branching out beyond France? There are some phenomenal Brandies from around the world that rival the best the French have to offer. And I say that as a bit of a snob about this stuff with my sights still set on buying ANOTHER bottle of Louis someday. And yet as good as that is, there's stuff that's darn near as good for 1/100th the price. But not from the Cognac region... unless I'm missing something. It just may not be from Ugni blanc grapes.