Need Cognac Help

[Blackham]

once again, thank you Mike for such an excellent recommendation. The Asbach is superb, too bad we can't get any Torres in Toronto

Anyone has any recommendation on Armagnacs?

[Mr Cholmondley Warner]

For some reason I always gravitate back to Remy VSOP. A quick mental tally and in the past 12 months I've gone through 10 bottles :s

[danistalking]

Nice write up Plato!

That price for the Henny VS is amazing actually..where I'm at it goes for about $80 i believe(no less than 60 or 70 if i'm wrong, someone from Ontario might know what i'm talking about).

[khomeinist]

I know this is an old thread that hasn't been responded to in a while,but Pierre Ferrenad Ambre is a good value at about $40 US.I think all of the Ferrand Cognacs I've tried are great.The most expensive I've had in their range was the Seleccion de Anges($99) so I can't tell you about their high end offerings,but I imagine they'd be quite good.For a little more money the Delemain Pale & Dry XO($83) is great.The funny thing is I've loved Cognac for years,but now I gravitate toward Scotch.

Your palate resembles mine it appears. The Ferrand and Delamain lines blow the major houses out of the water. I have had multiples bottles of Ferrand Abel. Wow. I truly love this spirit. I like the Ferrand Reserve for more regular drinking however given the price differences.

There are a lot of wonderful Armagnacs. The Delord line is fantastic for value and general availability.

Tchin Tchin

[emopunker2004]

Thanks for the wealth of knowledge

[ptrthgr8]

I'm going to see if any of the shops around town have Asbach Uralt. When we paid off our mortgage last year I bought myself a bottle of Louis XIII as a milestone present/splurge (always wanted one, just had a hard time justifying the cost). I absolutely love Louis XIII... the color, the aroma, the taste, the after taste, the way it makes a great cigar taste so much better... but it's simply not an everyday drink; it only comes out on special occasions.

I know it's not an apples/apples comparison at all, but how does Asbach Uralt compare to Louis XII? (I don't really have a lot of experience with good cognacs, aside from the Louis.)

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[TankerT]

I'm going to see if any of the shops around town have Asbach Uralt. When we paid off our mortgage last year I bought myself a bottle of Louis XIII as a milestone present/splurge (always wanted one, just had a hard time justifying the cost). I absolutely love Louis XIII... the color, the aroma, the taste, the after taste, the way it makes a great cigar taste so much better... but it's simply not an everyday drink; it only comes out on special occasions.

I know it's not an apples/apples comparison at all, but how does Asbach Uralt compare to Louis XII? (I don't really have a lot of experience with good cognacs, aside from the Louis.)

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

No clue. Never had Louis XIII. Probably never will...

[Puros Y Vino]

Here's another one for this thread.

Camus Borderies XO. Buttery smooth. No harshness. Very sublime. Best I've ever had. Not cheap, but worth it. It made an already sweet Siglo VI jump with added flavour.

[ptrthgr8]

1) Asbach Uralt – Germany- This is a company that started in 1892 by a man who set out to make Brandy that would rival the best Cognacs. There is NOTHING smoother than this. No burn, no bite. It’s like liquid candy brandy goodness. Beautiful dark color. AND you can find it between $21 and $30 dollars.

I picked up a bottle of the Asbach Uralt on the way home tonight ($28 here) and am already enjoying it quite a bit. Thanks very much to the suggestion!

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[PAL]

I would reccommend "HINE" as a true value and if you can find some, I would also add "OTARD"

Both excellent and a wide variety in both brands.

Here's wishing you luck in your quest.

Yes, Hine and Otard: agree Good stuff.

Off subject, but armagnac is similar but a fraction of the price for some reason....

PAL

[PAL]

No clue. Never had Louis XIII. Probably never will...

Got a bottle for my birthday for the good people in the office:

not sure if I have the guts to open it thought....

PAL

[khomeinist]

Lots of Armagnac is not cheap. Armagnac tends to be a bolder spirit. The production processes vary in several important ways.

Armagnac, while not cheap, can be an excellent value as compared with the luxury Cognac corporations.

[Zigatoh]

+1 on Armagnac, might not be cheap as such but is a lot more reasonable than Cognac!

Don't know a hell of a lot about it having tried generally standard supermarket stocked bottles, and the occasional random bottle abroad - year of birth type stuff from those places with bottles from nearly every year, on the whole but I always find it smoother and fruitier than cognac at twice the price.

[winelover]

+2 on Armagnac. I'm really into my French brandies and X.O Armagnac is not too expensive and there tend to be many small micro producers that make it all the more interesting. I tend to pick up my Armagnac when in France and tend to buy anything X.O and find the price is around EUR25.00-EUR30.00. I've loved Larresingle X.O and currently enjoying Armagnac Sempe X.O.

I find Armagnac more complex than most of the big four Cognacs but then I drink my Cognac's in VSOP as they tend to be expensive. If recommending a cognac I would endorse Guy's plug for Hine and would suggest you look out the "Rare VSOP" as that really is very special indeed with a wonderful bouquet on the nose. I've also enjoyed Delamain X.O. but as far as Cognacs go I am definitely a Hine man.

I'm currently drinking a Hennessy Fine de Cognac which paired well with a BBF. Very smooth but no real excitement on the bouquet / tasting front. I like to be able to discern as many flavours as I can and make notes if possible.

[ckile2012]

I really enjoyed this topic I will be trying some brandy shortly.

[geneticdrifter]

I tried the Torres 20 yesterday. It is very smooth and cost effective but I'm not sure it has as much flavor as some of the french brandy's. Further testing will be done.

[csandbothe]

Upon the recommendations here, I bought a bottle of the Torres 10 yesterday. I am typically a whiskey guy, but this is a delicious drink! I badly needed it after eating a burrito the size of my head lol. I look forward to trying the Asbach next.

[phoenix]

I tend toward the producers who do NOT add caramel or dilute up to volume. My top shelf of late is the Raymond Ragnaud "Tres Vieilles", but that ain't cheap or easy to find anymore @ ~ $400-500 USD a bottle. For a better bang for the buck try anything from Ragnaud-Sabourin (XO, No. 35, Floriliege). PM me if you have difficulty sourcing it.

Some of the Vintage HINE's are quite good as are some of the younger A.E. D'or. Anything older than the 1950's quickly becomes cost prohibitive...

[Guest RobbieG]

I'm a creature of habit and a bit simple when it comes to things I enjoy. I'm sure there are lots of great budget cognacs but I've never tried any. I'm a huge fan of Henessey Paradis and I rarely drink so it makes sense economically in my case. I also love the standard XO from that house more so than Remy or others. Wait, I take that back, I have had the HINE which is very inexpensive and fantastic in my book.

[dangolf18]

You can find better value with armagnac.

[JohnS]

Good information on cognac in this thread, especially on those brandies outside the French Cognac region!

[sengjc]

I am not US based so I can't really give any relevant feedback. What I find at my end is that you generally can't go wrong with the VSOP grade or equivalent from all the usual distributed brands - just depends on what house-style you like.

Armagnac offers good value but will need to be more selective.

Non-French (Spanish, Armenian and Australian, etc.) brandy are others that you may can explore for good bang for your buck too.

[Mr Cholmondley Warner]

Visited Cognac in 2013....Remy use fairly old blends in their VSOP to get the required flavour, up to 25 years old and superior to most of the manufacturers. Otard is an exception, also very good. Straight Cognac should be an XO minimum, much more syrupy and smooth with a mellow flavour. Louis XIII is something amazing! We visited the chateau housing these unique barrels, the oldest were 150 years plus! A great region to visit if you're in France.