Cognac

twerg_85

Going to France next week,near Bordeaux/cognac. Any recommendations for a nice cognac ? Courvoisier 12 ?
Never drink brandy and not a huge wine buff either (more whiskey and beer),
but want to try a nice one over there and maybe bring back a bottle. Armagnac or good calvados recommendations also welcome.
Ta !

Double Barrel

Standard Rémy Martin
How deep are your pockets?
http://www.delamain-cognac.fr/
http://www.hinecognac.com/
A German premium brandy that is worth a look, Dujardin Imperial in V.S.O.P. quality that is distilled at Charente, France, http://www.dujardin.biz/ I sometimes can get it at a discount. as it is competing with French cognac.

Shhh

I'd look out for some unusual independent brands if you are actually in cognac. You'll always get the big 4 anywhere..( hennessy, remy martin, courvoisier and Martell)and you find Camus meukow and hine too in a lot of duty frees... Go find something special and post when you get back!!!

twerg_85

Back from France and here's the story for anyone interested.

Did some limited research before travelling which seemed to suggest that Armagnac might be better value than cognac, so was initially leaning that way.
Tasted a Chateau Labaud hor's d'age armagnac in hotel on the way down. Very fruity nose (think grappa/schnapps). Smooth mouth feel I(kinda like pot still whiskey, and I think Armagnac is distilled in something similar) and a decent finish. Quite sweet and tasted very fruity, like a good schnapps. Probably a fine armagnac, but not to my tastes.

Took a small detour to visit Cognac, but it was a sunday (so most places closed) and lashing rain (so no desire to wander around). Pity, but didn't get a chance to go back visit it again.

Found a small offy in our village where I tasted a few cognacs. First one was a bit rough and very different to the armagnac (much more like whiskey than schnapps). Then tasted a 25 yr old, and it was lovely. Could really taste the difference, very smooth and well aged. Next up was a 35 yr old version that tasted very deep and complex. A fine drink indeed.
Price was €45 for the 25 yr old and €65 for the 35 yr old.

Couldn't find much on it online, but in the end decided to treat myself to the 35 yr old (pic attached). It's Guiet-petit, if anyone knows anything about them let me know !

Next up was some french craft beers. Found Jade in the supermarket, and 2 others in an offy. The Jade was fine, nothing special. Didn't like the La Baine -it was slightly sparkling and fruity, more like a cider than a beer in fact. Reminded me a bit of trouble brewing Or, so if you like that you might like La Baine. The La Tchanquee was also slightly fizzy. I thought it had a hint of sour cherry, then read the label and saw it was oyster (so much for my tatse buds). Not much chocolate or coffee notes which I prefer in this type of drink.
All in all, not happy with the beers, but worth a try !

Visited Bordeaux for a day and was delighted when I spotted what looked like a great offy. They had a selection of vintage armagnacs (my birthday was 100 quid, so no dice) but very few cognacs. I was feeling really disappointed until I spotted a HUGE collection of whiskeys. Picked up a bottle of Amrut Fusion indian whiskey for 45. They also had Penderyn, Mackmyra, loads of scotch and Irish and a decent selection of Japanese too.

On the way home picked up a bottle of Chateau Lheraud VSOP. Haven't tasted it yet, hopefully it's nice.

Overall, not a huge selection of cognacs around, I guess if I'd found a local market I might have had better luck, but happy with the ones I got.

finally, for anyone getting the ferry, bushmills 10 was €24 and middleton vr 2011 was €98.

f.

Shhh

Great post, makes me want to head to that ferry...

twerg_85

They also had Castarede Bas Armagnac VSOP, 10 yr old for €30 and a Coquerel Calvados XO for €35 (gold in 2011 world spirits award). Didn't taste either, but look decent value if you're into something slightly different.

F.