And so we finally reach that most prestigious of French brandies, cognac. It must use grapes grown locally (most often Ugni blanc) and must be double pot distilled and VS must be aged for a minimum of 2 years in Limousin oak casks.
Smells of white wine, oak, and grape juice. The taste is lightly sweet with flavors of grape juice, apple, pear, and cherry cough syrup. The finish is long with minimal burn, featuring notes of oak, herbal liqueur, grape leaves, and clove. Overall, it’s smooth and mellow and very sippable, but the oak overpowers the fruit flavors in my opinion, and I’d rather pay less for Armagnac, though I do have more cognacs to try…
A sidecar is very VERY smooth and manages to cover the oak while bringing out some of the fruitier grape notes in the cognac.
A Cognac Rose is perfectly balanced between lemon, grenadine, and subtle oak flavors; highly recommended.
A Cognac Jack is surprisingly (and pleasantly) oak forward, with the apple and lemon taking on merely supporting roles. Most perplexing but also quite delicious.
An Old Fashioned is also structured, balanced, and smooth with an impeccable harmony among the ingredients. Brown sugar, citrus, oak, and a touch of fig.