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Christmas Gifts for Under £200

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For those who would like to spend just a little bit more, here are our suggestions for 5 Christmas Gifts that can be purchased for under £200.  Enjoy the read!

Under £200Hermitage Provenance 25 Grande Champagne Cognac £126.72  Cognacs from the Grande Champagne age very slowly producing flavours such as roasted nuts, rich fruits and citrus. This cognac’s wonderfully complex flavours are a result of having been kept in oak barrels, in damp cellars, for over 25 years.

Dupont 20 Year Old Pays d’Age Calvados £147.24  This wonderful calvados is made from 80% bittersweet apples and 20% acidic apples and has been aged for over 20 years in a wooden vat and toasted oak barrels.  Well balanced with long and intense flavours of fruit and toasted hazelnuts.

Hermitage 30 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac  £163.86  Thirty years of oak ageing ensures this cognac has far more intense flavour and complexity than the big commercial blends.  It has a rich nutty, spice and coffee flavour with mature pineapple background.

Chateau du Breuil 20 Year Old Pays d’Age Calvados  £164.94  A taste of sweet baked apples with an overindulgent richness. There are 5 apple varieties with only 20% being picked from the tree, the remainder are fallen apples with higher sugar content.

Castarede 1972 Bas Armagnac  £164.94  All of Castarède’s armagnacs come from the top cru, Bas Armagnac, which produces light, fruity, delicate and highly reputed eaux de vie, from which the armagnacs are distilled.  Elegant and refined with flavours of dried fruits, bread pudding, toffee and sweet spices.

Christmas Gifts For Under £100

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In our second gift guide, designed to make choosing those precious Christmas gifts just a little bit easier, we have selected 5 of our favourites, all of which are priced at under £100:

Under £100Montanaro Grappa Barolo Cannubi    £72.30  A unique grappa distilled from the grape marcs of Nebbiolo da Barolo from the famous Cannubi cru. One of Montanaro’s finest it has an unmistakable intensity on the nose and cleanliness and elegance in the mouth; soft, velvety, sweet and delicate flavours with notes of dried fruit and jam. Aged in Slavonian oak barrels for 4-5 years, it has a golden yellow colour typical of wood-aged distillates.

Hermitage 2010 Grande Champagne Cognac   £76.14   Another wonderful vintage from the Chez Richon stills, this cognac is still in cask and maturing all the time. Traditional flavours of mocha and toffee are accompanied by butterscotch and sweet spices to delight your palate. As our award-winning 2005 vintage has run out, we are pleased to have found this 2010 as a worthy replacement.

Toutain Hors d’Age 15 Year Old Calvados   £77.22    There are 35 apple varieties allowable for the production of calvados and Toutain grow all their own in their orchards near Beuzeville, Normandy. This Hors d’Age calvados has been aged in oak for 15 years to produce a complex and fine calvados suitable for drinking during or after a meal.

Mosgaard Organic Single Malt Palo Cortado Cask Whisky   £84.12  Finished in casks built from American white oak, which had been medium toasted, and put into stock with Palo Cortado sherry for 1.5 years.  (Palo Cortado is a sherry with the nose of Amontillado and the body from Oloroso).  It has been bottled at a strength of 53% which balances the spicy malt and green citrus notes.

Delord 1992 Bas Armagnac   £88.26   An armagnac with character from Delord. It was distilled in 1992 and aged in wooden barrels until its recent bottling. It is contact with the wood that has helped give its beautiful colour of old gold with copper highlights.  

Christmas Gifts For Under £50

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We have a wealth of Christmas present ideas to suit all budgets but to make choosing a little easier, we have selected 5 of our favourites, all of which are priced at under £50:

Under £50Montanaro Vermouth Extra Dry Di Torino    £33.48    Straw-yellow coloured, with light amber shadows, due to the addition of 5% of fine Marsala to the main white wine. A bitter orange taste on the palate, followed by the Gentian and lemon peel. Perfect for a Martini Cocktail, or neat, on the rocks. The low sugar content of 25 grams/litre explains why it is really ‘Extra Dry’.

Mosgaard Organic Tangerine Gin    £39    Sweet and floral organic tangerine gin made from fresh tangerines. A perfect gin for cocktails adding a little acidity and apple-like sharpness or with tonic over plenty of ice. The citrus package gives it a more aromatic expression and is balanced with lime.

Domaine de Cassagnoles 5 Year Old Tenareze Armagnac   £41.28    From the second cru of Armagnac the small house of Cassagnoles has been making armagnacs for many years. This 5 year old has the traditional plummy style but with more of a greengage flavour and a clean finish.

Chateau de Bordeneuve La Grande Josiane, Orange Armagnac Liqueur   £42.84    Developed from an old family recipe, La Grande Josiane is the result of a subtle alliance between the fullness and strength of Bas Armagnac and the softness and perfume of bitter oranges, meticulously selected for their maturity. Can be served as an aperitif over ice, mixed with sparkling wine, as a digestif or in cooking on crèpes flambées and fruit salads.

Château de Beaulon 2000 Pineau des Charentes – White   £49.68    Another vintage Pineau des Charentes by Chateau de Beaulon. We understand that it was aged in casks previously used for ageing the famous white Sauterne, Chateau d’Yquem and the result is a wonderfully delicious, rich Pineau; a masterpiece of great authority of this rare drink.

New Vintage Armagnacs – Castarede 1983, 1986 & 1987

Posted / in Brandy Bottle Reviews, News, News from the Brandy Houses and tagged , , , , ,

Vintage ArmagnacsAll from the top cru, Bas Armagnac, we have another three wonderful vintage armagnacs from one of the very best producers, Castarede.   Said to be the oldest business in Armagnac, having been founded in 1832, they own the Chateau de Maniban estate and supply armagnacs grown on their 16 hectares of vineyards.  Four main armagnac grape varieties of Ugni Blanc, Baco, Folle Blanche and Colombard are grown.  All vintages, distilled in 1983, 1986 and 1987 respectively, have been aged for over 35 years.  Take a look at the delicious tasting notes below.

Castarede 1983

Aroma: Guava, passion fruit and cedar.

Flavour: Light and mellow. Flavours of angelica and elderberry with sour apple.

Castarede 1986

Aroma: Celery, palm leaves and a hint of cedar.

Flavour: Dried apples and angelica with a long finish of dried apricot.

Castarede 1987

Aroma: Unusual aromas of pineapple leaves and green tea.

Flavour: Delightful flavours of dried greengage, sage and crystalised mandarin.

Black Friday Weekend Bargains 25th – 28th November

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Black Friday WeekendBlack Friday Weekend is nearly upon us.  From Friday 25th November to Monday 28th November, inclusive, we will have some amazing bargains at up to half price.  Check in to our home page to find:

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Vintage Cognac

Armagnac

Grappa

Aperitivo

Liqueurs

Gift sets

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Some are specialist products, some are end of line, some have damaged packaging but all taste absolutely divine!  You will not be disappointed, especially with the price.

Five of the Most Popular Types of Apple Brandy

Posted / in How to make Calvados, Learning about Brandy, News and tagged , , , , ,

apple brandyWhether you call it applejack, calvados or bätzi, apple brandy is a spirit made from fermented and distilled apples.  There are clear, unaged versions and golden-coloured ones that have spent years in oak barrels.  These are five of the most popular:

Applejack

Historically, applejack was made with North American cider apples and produced using a method called “jacking” or freeze distillation. These days, however, it is typically distilled in column or pot stills and aged in barrels or bottled as a young, clear spirit.  Applejack and apple brandy are by definition the same, but there are minor differences between the apples used, terroir and the ageing process.

Bätzi

A clear brandy made from dried apples which comes from Switzerland’s Obwalden region.  The process of ageing can vary but the duration is usually six months or more.  Bätzi is closely related to another type of Swiss apple brandy, Träsch, but the latter is made with fresh, not dried apples.

Calvados

Calvados is an apple brandy which must be made with apples from Normandy, France as stated in its Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status.  The apples are fermented into cider, distilled into eau-de-vie, and then aged for at least two years in oak barrels.  Whilst a small number of pears are permissible, the majority of the mix has to come from the region’s very many apple varieties.

Eau-de-Vie de Pomme

Crisp and water-clear, eau-de-vie is a broad category of brandy that can be made from pretty much any fruit. It’s produced in much of Europe as well as the U.S.  When made from apples, the spirit is called eau-de-vie de pomme.  The apples are fermented into cider before being distilled, often (but not always) in a copper pot still.  Eau-de-vie is generally unaged.

Obstler

Hailing from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, this is a clear, unaged spirit. As with calvados, it is not always exclusively made from apples; Obstler can contain a variety and larger quantities of other fruits in its mix.  Apple and pear obstler is common, but there are also varieties made with apples and plums, apricots and cherries.

Hermitage 1900 Cognac Gift Set, Ideal For Christmas

Posted / in Brandy Bottle Reviews, News, The Bottle Story and tagged , , , , ,

1900 CognacHow many people can claim to have tasted a cognac distilled at the turn of the last century?  Well, this is your chance!  Our extra special Gift Set comprises a 20Cl bottle of 1900 cognac from the top cru and one of our exclusive Hermitage Cognacs tulip-shaped tasting glasses.  The Hermitage 1900 Grande Champagne was found in an old cellar, the owners of which ceased making cognac many years ago, so it really was a rare and exclusive find.

Although presented at the higher strength of 47.5 % abv, its long ageing in oak barrels has produced an exceptionally well-balanced cognac.  A hint of tobacco with almond, medlar, mangosteen and dry spice aromas lead to a powerful attack on the palate of dry fruit and spices.   There are also many other complex flavours being experienced at the same time including green walnuts, mangosteen, mace and cucumber.

 

This really is a once in a lifetime experience!

Hermitage Paradis 1875 Cognac

Posted in Brandy Bottle Reviews, News, News from the Brandy Houses and tagged , , , , , ,

1875 cognacWe are very excited to introduce a new cognac to our shelves, and our Hermitage Paradis range, the 1875 vintage.  Only a few bottles remain of this old 1875 cognac which originally came from a cellar near Bouteville, in the cru now known as Grande Champagne.  It was distilled on a very small still and then aged for more than 75 years in a cellar built against a limestone cutting.  The cellar floor and walls were natural, with no cement or concrete, which made it ideal for ageing old cognacs.

The production of cognacs in the 18th and 19th centuries was a way of farming the land that growers owned. At the time these cognacs were made, there were perhaps more than 1500 different growers in the region, each making their wines, distilling them and putting them into cellars to age in oak casks. The skills employed had been handed down from generations before them.  Not every brandy which the growers produced was of a quality that stood out as being truly exceptional but now and again a cognac would be sufficiently good to be kept to one side and stored for the future. The year that the cognac was made was always recorded with a chalk mark on the barrel.

 

We understand that this cognac was removed from cask and placed in bonbonnes between 1950 and 1955, making it 75 – 80 years old.  Our tasting notes confirm that the cognac has developed a significant rancio consistent with very long cask ageing.  Specific tasting notes can be found here.

World Calvados Day Thursday 20th October

Posted in Cocktails, Cocktails, News and tagged , , , ,

World Calvados DayToday Thursday, 20th October, is World Calvados Day.  If you would like to try this fabulous French apple brandy how about making something different?  Calvados and tonic is France’s answer to the G&T and is a staple in Normandy.  Although traditionally served chilled, it is just as fabulous with heaps of ice, a ton of tonic and a simple lemon twist producing a drink that’s “A little bitter and sweet, refreshing and bright”.

INGREDIENTS

Serving: 1

Garnish: lemon twist

DIRECTIONS
  1. Pour the Calvados into a Burgundy glass over ice.
  2. Top with tonic water.
  3. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Reproduced from Punch.

National Calvados Week and Liqueur Day

Posted / in Cocktails, Learning about Brandy, News and tagged , , , , ,

calvados weekCalvados is a brandy made from apples and produced exclusively in Normandy.  Its history dates back to 1553, when the drink was known as cidre eau-de-vie.  The name calvados was introduced in the late 1700s, when France was divided into departments, and it is now known as one of the Three Noble French Eaux de Vie (cognac and armagnac being the other two).  National Calvados Week is now in its tenth year and will run, alongside the annual apple harvest, from 10 – 16 October in bars and retailers throughout the UK.  World Calvados Day will follow on shortly afterwards, on the 20th October, which falls on the eve of National Apple Day.  If calvados is new to you, now is the time to try it.  We have recently taken on a new supplier, Toutain, whose calvados are some of the finest we have ever tasted.  Rich in fruity, appley flavours they evoke perfect seasonal aromas of autumn in the North of France.

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Also on the 16th of October we will be celebrating National Liqueur Day.  A liqueur is a distilled spirit-based drink that is further blended with natural sweet flavours (such as sugar or corn syrup along with fruits, nuts, creams, plats, purees, spices, etc).   Although the base spirit will have been aged, the liqueur is not; it just undergoes a brief resting stage for the flavours to blend.  Liqueurs generally have an abv of 15 – 30% and are great for cocktails.  You can also have them straight, mixed with other drinks or desserts, or simply poured over ice.  Check out our range, including Nusbaumer, here.