During the late 1980’s and early 1990’s when Brandyclassics were developing a strategy for selling cognacs, the key question customers would ask was “Can we have a vintage cognac”. Research has established that more than 93% of customers would prefer to know how old the cognacs they are buying are, rather than rely on a generic description which they do not understand. Brandyclassics have understood customers’ reluctance to buy cognacs which lack individuality for many years. The famous cognac houses spend millions of pounds advertising their homogenous, characterless generic VS, VSOP and XO cognacs, resting on the laurels of past… Read more

The Larsen brand of is probably known in every cognac drinking country for their Viking Ship logo. The firm was established in 1926 by Jens Reidar Larsen who came from Tromso, north of the arctic circle in Norway. The firm are quick to point out that the term Viking refers to a state of mind rather than the plundering race of warriors searching many countries for wealth! Jens Larsen was a cognac connoisseur and became charmed by the inimitable atmosphere and people of Cognac. Jens was a businessman and after a while bought a small cognac company belonging to a Joseph… Read more

Hine is one of the most venerable and deservedly respected names in Cognac. It was founded by an immigrant from Dorset, Thomas Hine, who settled in Jarnac in 1791 and married into the Delamain family and became a partner. The Hine company was founded in 1817 by Thomas who died aged 47. He was succeeded by Isaac Georges (1843-1902), Georges Thomas (1881-1940), Francois Thomas,(1908-1983), Robert (1912-1994) and Bernard Thomas Hine 1939 the current Hine family member.  The firm became well known for the cognacs it shipped in cask to British Wine Merchants, for bottling under its name for sale to… Read more

During a visit to Cognac last week we have been lucky enough to find two old bonbonnes of rare cognac. Each bonbonne holds the equivalent of about 42 bottles and some will be decanted into bottles next month. The first container is a rare 1900 cognac which we have found with the help of one of our suppliers; it has an extremely traditional Grande Champagne style and taste and is ready for bottling now. The second comes from the area now known as Borderies and is a 1914 vintage. This is the third cru of Cognac and is famous for… Read more

In 1991  A E Dor introduced their Opera presentation. The firm are ardent believers in blending and they decided to use a 25 year old cognac, which they described as an XO. What made this bottle so special was not just the attractive red and gold ceramic decanter with its ceramic gold stopper, but the box it was presented in. The box opened from the front and had a double hinged front opening which exposed the bottle sitting in front of a gold and curved background – it was a big presentation and looked stunning. Unfortunately today, the presentation has… Read more

In real terms nobody really knows when cognacs were first put into bottles. The first recorded cognacs existed around 1540, but we only know of them being sold in barrels. About 200 years later, cognacs were being sold from barrels and transferred into small convenient sized hand blown bottles of around 40-50cl. At around this time, it was discovered that some cognacs were best removed from the barrel and stored in glass bottles, which prevented them from changing their individual characteristics. To prevent any deterioration in the cognac when it was stored in glass, it was necessary for the bottle… Read more

The firm was founded in 1805 and cognacs were shipped to Britain and India. In those days there was no Suez Canal and the cognacs were transported by camels across hundreds of miles of desert. They must have liked the cognac, since the name is still used today although the cognacs have changed rather a lot.  The firm has had a famous history but its most recent owners, Otard have decided to use a remarkably similar tasting cognac as their own and another sold in the Far East called Chateau de la Grange in the bottles. Pressure on the availability… Read more

Workers at Hennessy’s cellars of Haut-Bagnolet walked out last Tuesday as a show of solidarity against wages. They are seeking a bigger share of the cognac producer’s profits. Urged by the unions (Intersyndicale CGT and Force Ouvriere), employees are not happy at the breakdown of talks earlier in the week at the mandatory annual negotiations about a reassessment of staff wages. CGT delegate Francoise Puchaud stated that the company wants to bring in a reassessment well below the company’s growth. Business is looking strong for 2011 and the proposed offer for employees is not keeping with this. Hennessy have refused to… Read more

Perhaps we best know of Hardy Cognacs for their very old pre-phylloxera cognacs such as the famous 1805, but the firm has prospered in America with more generic cognacs and some special presentations bottles. The firm was started in 1863 by Anthony Hardy, a wines and spirits trader in London. He moved to the Charente region and changed his name to Antoine after high taxes in the UK forced him to close his UK business. He had bought land, vines and learnt to distil the wines, but in 1878 the phylloxera had destroyed much of his estate. Fortunately he had… Read more

Perhaps the question which comes up most regarding the creation of cognac is that of how it is made. Very little consideration is ever given to the ageing process or indeed the actual barrels used for this most critical part of the process. Indeed the cognac production journey from vineyard to barrel is less than six months. But once the eau de vie is placed in the barrel, fifty years may elapse before a golden cognac comes out ready to drink. Thus the construction and preparation of the barrel is critically important. The cognac barrels are made of oak from… Read more