At the end of our series on the Good and Great Cognac houses, we thought it appropriate to do a bit of chest beating for our very own Hermitage Cognacs. They are not the products of a single distiller, but from family distilleries and cellars with proven production and ageing procedures. The concept of Hermitage Pure Vintage Cognacs was formed about fifteen years ago, as we recognised the need to move away from blended cognacs which lacked individuality and failed to promote the age of the cognacs in the bottle. Our customers recognised that older brandies are better than young… Read more

The Ladies Drink Cognac too… In a recent disclosure, the drinks firm Beam have claimed that it has taken them 216 years of marketing to realise that ladies drink spirits as well as men. Beams marketing chief asked his team to establish what they were missing out on and introduced a range of spirit based drinks that they feel women will enjoy. Top of their bunch was a Jim Beam Bourbon infused with black cherry. Since then they have purchased Skinny Girl cocktails and Pucka Vodka. Now guess what? Courvoisier Cognac have introduced Rose Courvoisier, a red wine and cognac… Read more

Croizet 1858 sells at Auction for US$156,000 Last month, the highest known price for a bottle of Croizet Vintage 1858 Cognac was paid by a Chinese client. The Cognac is one of many the house has in its cellars and the firm is known for its collection of these old cognacs, many of which were bottled and kept in their cellars in St-Même-les-Carrières near Jarnac. The price paid for the bottle reflects the growing desire of the Chinese to own expensive cognacs, particularly those whose vintages contain a number eight. Although the price is high, the desire for expensive cognac… Read more

As a bit of interesting deviation from the cognacs and armagnacs we normally feature here, we thought it might be worthwhile tasting the macerated fruit eau de vie often used with wine, champagne or in cooking when a strong blackcurrant flavour is desired. The Nusbaumer Supreme de Cassis is without doubt one of the very finest cassis we have tasted. The blackcurrant flavour is intense and has been describes as even stronger than blackcurrants themselves. It is truly delicious and poured over desserts such as ice crème is enchanting. Nusbaumer also have a number of other macerated fruit eaux de… Read more

Grappa was originally a peasant drink, designed to provide comfort and strength to the maker – usually a poor peasant in the mountains of northern Italy. Grappa was more than just a drink – it was a tradition, a disinfectant, a medicine, allegedly sovereign against complaints as diverse as depression in old age, toothache, constipation and even bronchitis! Grappa can be consumed in many ways. It used to be consumed as a standard breakfast drink, espresso corretto con grappa with just enough grappa in the espresso to get the blood circulating. A drop or two in the coffee also formed… Read more

Legally the Cognaçais may use a number of grape varieties, although the choice is largely theoretical. The Ugni Blanc or to give it it’s proper name, the St Emillion des Charentes, accounts for about 95% of the total area. The rest is almost totally Colombard and Folle Blanch. This concentration is largely attributable to phylloxera. Cognacs rise to fame was based on two varieties, the Balzac and the Folle (later known as the Folle Blanche) both much despised by locals only interested in fine wines. In the eighteenth century the Colombard which made the delicious sweet wine from the Borderies… Read more

Finding a good 1900 these days is becoming a real trial and we have tasted many that are way off the mark in both style and balance. So we were over the moon when we found one we liked from a cellar in Bouteville between Segonzac and Chateauneuf in Grande Champagne. Moreover we have discovered that there is more than two hundred litres available to us. The cognac has been kept in cellars and in Limousin cask for more than 50 years and has matured slowly providing a relatively complex cognac and stylish cognac. It was made on 25 hltr… Read more

The firm  Castarède is naturally proud of being the oldest business in Armagnac. They were founded in 1832 by Jules Nismes at the suggestion of a young subprefect, who later became famous as the Baron Haussmann who replanned Paris for the Emperor Napoleon III. The firm was sited at the furthest point  to which the River Baise is navigable and provides direct access to Bordeaux down the River Garonne. The firm is still owned by the Castarède family, who are also proprietors of the picturesque Château de Maniban at Mauléon d’Armagnac. The Maniban family were members of the legal aristocracy, the… Read more

Bouteville. Home of Hermitage 1900 Grande Champagne As most of our customers are aware, Hermitage Cognacs come with age statements and it can be difficult sometimes to find enough to supply the market needs. Clearly younger cognacs are easier to find than older ones, but the need for quality means that we have to reject many vintages where we feel that they will neither fit into our range or are not of a quality suitable for the Hermitage name. There is a big demand for vintages – far more than generically labelled blends – since customers are fast becoming disillusioned… Read more

Different interpretations of the name Cognac in European countries have lead to a host of challenges for the BNIC lawyers in Cognac. Spirits can only be called cognac if they are made in The Charente region of France and comply with a list of other conditions designed to protect both its quality and heritage. During the last few years variants of the name have cropped up. The Russian word “Conyack” means in Russia the same for brandy and Cognac, whilst in Finland there is a case concerning the use of the word Konjakki to describe the brandy sold by Oy… Read more