Cognac Masters Medals 2018 – Master and Gold
We are delighted to announce that three of our Hermitage Cognacs range were awarded medals at the recent Spirits Business Cognac Masters Competition. Almost 40% of our Hermitage range now have a Masters or Gold Medal.
Our highly-prized Hermitage Cognac Marie Louise was presented with a Masters Medal in the Vintage – Single Estate category. The judges commented that “when a cognac is done well, it is exceptionally good at ageing”.
Gold Medals were also awarded to two other vintages. Our Hermitage 45 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac clearly wowed the judges as well as ourselves, as did the Hermitage 1958 Borderies Cognac. The judges particularly enjoyed the “toffee, tobacco and toast” aromas which led to “bread, peach and butterscotch” on the palate.
Making sure that our customers really do get the best means that, after we have decided on a potential cognac, we still need to do several tests. The first is of course tasting. It is difficult to say how many cognacs we taste but on some days, it may be twenty or even thirty, others, maybe only one or two. One tends to gather considerable experience when tasting many different cognacs. Then we check the cognac for balance which means balancing the fieriness against flavour. Sometimes we need to reduce the cognac slightly which in some cases take quite a long time. We also check it for sediment as some distillers don’t filter their cognacs before we receive them at our bottling plant. The alcohol level is also tested as legally, this must be quoted on the label. This process also involves checking the level of obscuration (factors which mask the true alcohol content). There is always some natural obscuration which cannot be avoided but in modern blends, the addition of sugar and caramel increases the level considerably.
Not every cognac house has a Paradis – a designated area in the innermost recess of their cellar – but those that exist are steeped in history. Back in the early eighties, having discovered a cognac which I really liked, I went to the Charente to try and discover its origin. I ended up in Cognac’s twin town, Jarnac, standing in front of an elegant wrought iron gate with an imposing key. Behind it were about 100 very dusty bonbonnes, each with a chalk board describing what was in them. What an eye opener – they contained cognacs which dated from as early as 1805. Each bonbonne (a sort of demijohn in a basket), contained about 30 litres of prized spirits and was sealed with wax to maintain its superior qualities.
Many cognac families select a few of their finest cognacs for storage in the Paradis. The point when a cognac has gained all the benefit it can from the wood depends on many factors but ultimately, it is when the cellar master decides that it has reached its optimum quality. At this stage the cognac is put into glass bonbonnes and sealed so that the generations of gentle maturation in the barrel are preserved. A cognac that has lasted in oak without deterioration for perhaps 60, 70, 80 or even 90 years is going to be good, very good and will have developed the much sought after 
Sustainable and taint-free corks are the latest innovations to hit the ‘spirit stoppers’ market. Distillery by-products such as grape marc from cognac, barley malt from whisky and juniper from gin make up 50% of the raw materials used to produce ‘Abor’ corks. Manufacturers, the Tapi Group, are “seeking to create brand awareness in an eco-sustainable way” with their ‘green’ and sustainable new closures. Cork Supply, by contrast, have just released a range of ‘taint-free’ corks with a money-back guarantee. Their vision was to “produce quality closures that add value to the industry”; taint-free cork stoppers will surely have a place in the world of cognac. Unlike wine, 
Alexandre Bisquit established his famous cognac trading house in Jarnac in 1819. When his daughter married Adrien Dubouché in 
We were disappointed to read earlier this year that Cognac Renault has created ‘a new innovation – an expression specifically designed to pair with coffee’ – called Renault Avec. Quite simply this is not the case. Hermitage Cognac launched its 
Food pairing is all the rage right now, including with cognac. Hennessy have created a whole dining experience to enjoy their latest cognac blend with a 4-course meal. We never recommend doing this with vintage cognac but as a digestif, it does bring a special enjoyment. Some cognacs have complimentary flavours which go well with after dinner courses, such as 
The big cognac houses are well aware of the similarity of their products so the need to spice up their ranges is always evident. We have seen recently the efforts by some to add a cask finish to their cognacs; sherry casks have already been used by one house. But the latest craze is to try and produce a super XO cognac called XXO. Hennessy, who have the biggest sales of XO cognacs, have already launched an XXO in the Far East. They tried to register it as a Hennessy name thereby denying other houses the opportunity to use the term. Unsurprisingly, other cognac growers were far from happy but after debate, an agreement has been reached allowing anybody to use the term for their super XOs. Apparently, these new XXO cognacs will have to be aged for a minimum of 14 years. This seems a strange period to select since many of the smaller houses make XO cognacs up to 20 years old. It took a quarter of a century to change the XO definition from 6 to 10 years, perhaps it will take another 25 years to officially recognise this new, super appellation? It’s an interesting point since many years ago,
Vintage cocktails, made from rare and very old vintage cognac, are trending …… they are also extremely expensive! Interest began with the World’s most expensive cocktail which was created in 2012 and sold for £5500. It contained a 1788 Cognac, 1770 Liqueur and 1860 Orange Curacao. Similar concoctions can now be bought at the very best bars in the 
world for similarly handsome prices.