Floral is something I could really for. for me It's floral. And with my whiskies. It's the sea. :) two totally different profiles. but they stand out the most to me.
Thanks, Harry, I am truly fortunate to have had the opportunity to sample it. It was quite an experience. It will be a challenge to go back to VSOPs now... hahaha
the link didn't work for me... Perhaps I did something wrong but I just clicked the on the link in the description box. I am on my Samsung Galaxy S10+ and that might be the key to finding a solution to this problem; or perhaps I missed the giveaway. But today is 21 April, year of our lord 2019 and I'm here in my mothers home, my home town Denver City, Colorado U.S.A. Or actually it's 22 April, the year of our lord 2019 and 2:48 am MST. USA. AND I have three questions for you sir; (1) What is the number alcohol by volume as in - Xx(s) Xx % acl./vol. - (sample bottle) 2) I know you said you had gotten it from your friend whos' website you posted [I assume it was the link I tried but it (for me at least) didn't work] but how did he or you acquire this sample? 3) How did you get such an awesome job?
Hey Nick, thanks for checking out the review. Sadly, the promotion/give away has ended so I believe the link/post has expired. Alcohol content dies down with age... so the 140 year was just barely 40% abv. I wish I could make a career out of my passion for Brandy but at the moment it is just a hobby. Cheers
100/100? Whaddayagonnado when someone sends you a 150-year sample? Seems you drank yourself into a corner ;-) Just kidding. Good info about aging. And always happy to hear about natural color. Just read that the "pale" in VSOP "very superior old pale" was meant to highlight its superiority over VS and its natural, uncorrected pale color. Of course, that was way back when, today it offers no such guarantee.
Ha! I had to take a break from Cognac after that one. It's hard to go back to VSOP after that. I just reviewed/opened a Martell XO and it was packing some heat! Incredibly aged, finessed to perfection. It is unfortunate that so many houses (Cognac and Whiskey) use E-150. Even more disappointing that there's no disclosure or regulations enforcing that they do. It does seem like the whiskey industry is coming around. I am starting to see more and more expressions with "non-chill-filtered", no color added to the label. Hit me up if you are ever in Las Vegas! Cheers
Once I realized this, I went on a deliberate search and there's a world beyond the big Cognac houses. I had to travel 2 states over (not for this, was a planned trip) but I found: Baardseth XO Single Cru - non-chill filtered, no additives, 43%. Augier - 3 expressions (Malted In Montreal has reviews), 3 different crus, single grape, NCF, no additives. Artez Armagnac - 3 different single varietal expressions, probably chill-filtered, 40%, but with no additives (some of Armagnacs DO add E150, it's allowed). I felt I don't have to insist on older age with such artisan expressions, they're not putting VS-grade juice into these bottles. Haven't tried any of them yet, but can't wait. Wanted to finish some other bottles. Also, if your state has big liquor stores, they are likely to have their own "select" bottlings where they get some exclusive casks, so they tell you the provenance and age but also say it's Binny's exclusive (or BevMo or whatever). I saw 10-year old single cask (cask strength) Cognac at reasonable price. Just couldn't fit it into the budget at the time. That goes for malts, too. Speaking of malts, how many malts (and other whiskies) have you tried? Might be worth your while to explore.
My thought on regulations: it can be a mixed bag. Scotland and France DO have regulations and as a result you have stuff bottled at bare minimum 40%. Those who want to stand out just need to go beyond and put it on the label. Canada is a good example - historically Canadian whiskey didn't have as serious a reputation as American or Scottish, because of much looser laws. But it allows more freedom (which a bourbon or an American straight whiskey couldn't do) and you have some really high quality artisan/craft offerings that follow their own standards, above and beyond the law. Cognac just has too long and popular reputation for its own good. The more discriminating, knowledgeable and demanding customers become, the more pressure to not rest on their laurels. It's happening, the expressions I mentioned above are clearly pandering to whisky geeks.
Thanks for pointing those expressions out! I looked up the Baardseth and it is definitely one I want to get my hands on. I have heard great things about Augier aswell. I truly enjoy the non-chill filtered expressions. My favorite to date has to be the Daniel Bouju expressions. I have been exploring the malted (dark) side for the past couple years. Cognac is my forte so I've held off on publishing reviews... and there is a ton of whiskey content out there. Ralfy is my favorite! I am torn between the sherried peated whiskeys and the Japanese expressions. I recently tried some Kavalan expressions and was pleasantly surprised despite the ridiculous price points. I enjoy a good bourbon as well but it seems like they are not as complex and unique as scotch can be. My favorite bourbon is the Angle's Envy Rye.
Of course, I'd love to see you review them. I haven't had that many Cognacs, so my perspective is limited (I have more head knowledge/information than experience). Single malts were my first spirits that I truly appreciated, so they tend to stay my favorite, but I keep an open mind. Grain whisky (bourbon, rye, Irish, Canadian) as well as tequila, pisco, rum, I have yet to be disappointed. I feel like bourbon and rye take some time and some different expressions to start seeing the depth, although very affordable mainstream straight bourbons and ryes are just very well made. But I don't have a favorite spirit at a given moment, it all depends on the mood.
Glad you enjoyed it brother, thank you for the shout-out. That's the beautiful thing about our community, we love sharing and helping each other. 👌
It was a pleasure, I can not thank you enough for your kindness and generosity. I will have to return the favor! Cheers
4:18 this guy just ate liquid.
Floral is something I could really for. for me It's floral. And with my whiskies. It's the sea. :) two totally different profiles. but they stand out the most to me.
Martell XO ?
That is some good cognac karma
Thanks, Harry, I am truly fortunate to have had the opportunity to sample it. It was quite an experience. It will be a challenge to go back to VSOPs now... hahaha
the link didn't work for me... Perhaps I did something wrong but I just clicked the on the link in the description box. I am on my Samsung Galaxy S10+ and that might be the key to finding a solution to this problem; or perhaps I missed the giveaway. But today is 21 April, year of our lord 2019 and I'm here in my mothers home, my home town Denver City, Colorado U.S.A. Or actually it's 22 April, the year of our lord 2019 and 2:48 am MST. USA.
AND I have three questions for you sir; (1) What is the number alcohol by volume as in - Xx(s) Xx % acl./vol. - (sample bottle)
2) I know you said you had gotten it from your friend whos' website you posted [I assume it was the link I tried but it (for me at least) didn't work] but how did he or you acquire this sample?
3) How did you get such an awesome job?
Hey Nick, thanks for checking out the review. Sadly, the promotion/give away has ended so I believe the link/post has expired. Alcohol content dies down with age... so the 140 year was just barely 40% abv. I wish I could make a career out of my passion for Brandy but at the moment it is just a hobby. Cheers
COGNAC GIVEAWAY!!!
Go to ua-cam.com/video/I1M8qNDdab8/v-deo.html
100/100? Whaddayagonnado when someone sends you a 150-year sample? Seems you drank yourself into a corner ;-) Just kidding. Good info about aging. And always happy to hear about natural color. Just read that the "pale" in VSOP "very superior old pale" was meant to highlight its superiority over VS and its natural, uncorrected pale color. Of course, that was way back when, today it offers no such guarantee.
Ha! I had to take a break from Cognac after that one. It's hard to go back to VSOP after that. I just reviewed/opened a Martell XO and it was packing some heat! Incredibly aged, finessed to perfection. It is unfortunate that so many houses (Cognac and Whiskey) use E-150. Even more disappointing that there's no disclosure or regulations enforcing that they do. It does seem like the whiskey industry is coming around. I am starting to see more and more expressions with "non-chill-filtered", no color added to the label. Hit me up if you are ever in Las Vegas! Cheers
Once I realized this, I went on a deliberate search and there's a world beyond the big Cognac houses. I had to travel 2 states over (not for this, was a planned trip) but I found: Baardseth XO Single Cru - non-chill filtered, no additives, 43%. Augier - 3 expressions (Malted In Montreal has reviews), 3 different crus, single grape, NCF, no additives. Artez Armagnac - 3 different single varietal expressions, probably chill-filtered, 40%, but with no additives (some of Armagnacs DO add E150, it's allowed). I felt I don't have to insist on older age with such artisan expressions, they're not putting VS-grade juice into these bottles. Haven't tried any of them yet, but can't wait. Wanted to finish some other bottles.
Also, if your state has big liquor stores, they are likely to have their own "select" bottlings where they get some exclusive casks, so they tell you the provenance and age but also say it's Binny's exclusive (or BevMo or whatever). I saw 10-year old single cask (cask strength) Cognac at reasonable price. Just couldn't fit it into the budget at the time. That goes for malts, too.
Speaking of malts, how many malts (and other whiskies) have you tried? Might be worth your while to explore.
My thought on regulations: it can be a mixed bag. Scotland and France DO have regulations and as a result you have stuff bottled at bare minimum 40%. Those who want to stand out just need to go beyond and put it on the label. Canada is a good example - historically Canadian whiskey didn't have as serious a reputation as American or Scottish, because of much looser laws. But it allows more freedom (which a bourbon or an American straight whiskey couldn't do) and you have some really high quality artisan/craft offerings that follow their own standards, above and beyond the law. Cognac just has too long and popular reputation for its own good. The more discriminating, knowledgeable and demanding customers become, the more pressure to not rest on their laurels. It's happening, the expressions I mentioned above are clearly pandering to whisky geeks.
Thanks for pointing those expressions out! I looked up the Baardseth and it is definitely one I want to get my hands on. I have heard great things about Augier aswell. I truly enjoy the non-chill filtered expressions. My favorite to date has to be the Daniel Bouju expressions. I have been exploring the malted (dark) side for the past couple years. Cognac is my forte so I've held off on publishing reviews... and there is a ton of whiskey content out there. Ralfy is my favorite! I am torn between the sherried peated whiskeys and the Japanese expressions. I recently tried some Kavalan expressions and was pleasantly surprised despite the ridiculous price points. I enjoy a good bourbon as well but it seems like they are not as complex and unique as scotch can be. My favorite bourbon is the Angle's Envy Rye.
Of course, I'd love to see you review them. I haven't had that many Cognacs, so my perspective is limited (I have more head knowledge/information than experience). Single malts were my first spirits that I truly appreciated, so they tend to stay my favorite, but I keep an open mind. Grain whisky (bourbon, rye, Irish, Canadian) as well as tequila, pisco, rum, I have yet to be disappointed. I feel like bourbon and rye take some time and some different expressions to start seeing the depth, although very affordable mainstream straight bourbons and ryes are just very well made. But I don't have a favorite spirit at a given moment, it all depends on the mood.
Hello!
I have a Hardy Perfection series air bottle.
Do you interested to buy?
Im covered, thank you.🥂