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TV Presenter and journalist, Olly Smith, tastes plenty of cognacs in the course of his work and last month he recommended our Hermitage 1999 Cognac as “The Daddy of gifts – as complex and satisfying as a Dickens novel.” He also had some other gift ideas too – “…why not hunt a bottle from his birth year from a top quality range at Brandyclassics which presents bottles in impressive boxes?”
La Grande Josiane has been developed from an old family recipe and is the result of a subtle alliance between the fullness and strength of Armagnac and the softness and perfume of bitter oranges meticulously selected for their maturity.
At 36%abv it is a concentration of flavours that can be drunk at any time of the day in a number of ways:
On 6th of June 1944 over 130,000 Allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy in the biggest sea-borne invasion in military history. Known as Operation Overlord, the Allied mission was clear – to retake France from the invading Germans. Landing on 5 beaches designated with the codenames by which they are still known today: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, the soldiers stormed the coast from Saint-Marie-du-Mont to Ouistreham, taking thousands of casualties. This was one of the most audacious and heroic wartime operations of the 20th Century and 80 days later the Allies had successfully repelled the German forces.
Many celebrations are taking place this week to mark this momenetous occasion and we can offer some exquisite French toasts to match. We have a wonderful cognac aged in oak barrels for 70 years and two vintage armagnacs distilled in 1944. If you prefer something produced more locally, take a look at our range of calvados, all from Normandy:
https://www.brandyclassics.com/calvados.html
This month we are offering a 5% Discount Code for use on our Website to anyone who Likes our Facebook page or Follows us on Linked In.
All you have to do is ‘Like’ us or ‘Follow’ us, the links are on the Home Page, and then e mail us at cognac@brandyclassics.com to let us know. We will then send you a unique Promotion Code to use on our website by 30 June 2014.
For those who prefer the soft, red berries of the season, our Kir Impérial is another delight, perfect for enjoying on those long summer evenings:
To Make:
Just mix one part Crème à la Fraise des Bois or Liqueur de Framboises to 9 parts white wine to produce a refreshing, strawberry or raspberry flavoured Kir.
Widely used as an introduction drink at parties and more formal celebrations, Pineau Royale is also a delight on a hot sunny day.
To Make:
Take half a bottle of Pineau and half a bottle of sparkling mineral water, mix in a jug with the juice of 3 lemons and about 50cl of Hermitage Provenance 10 Grande Champagne cognac, add lots of ice and stir.
Serve with slices of lemon in a highball glass.
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Replanting after the Phylloxera outbreak did not restore prosperity. After the First World War came Prohibition in the United States and crippling state duties in Britain as well as State monopolies in Canada and Norway. Things became so bad that in 1922 Hennessy and Martell signed a pact to work together, effectively carving up the world markets between them.
Ironically, it was the German occupation of 1940-45 which provoked the springboard for post war cooperation and prosperity. Cognac was occupied during the war but the commander was a sympathetic figure named Herr Klaebisch. He had been in school in Cognac before the war and his family had controlled the well-known firm of Merkow. Klaebisch tried to minimise the disturbance to the Cognaçais, although they had to supply the Germans with enormous quantities of brandy and Klaebisch’s boss, Rudolf Hess, was known to be particularly fond of good cognac. But the Cognaçais cheated by shipping a lot of spirits made from root vegetables, not dissimilar to the Irish Poteen. This preserved their valuable stocks of real and very old cognacs which is why we are still able to obtain many today.
New figures from the WSTA show that pubs are becoming increasingly reliant on wine and spirit sales which are being served in equal measure with beer in newly opened gastro pubs, restaurants and bars. Forecasts from CGA Strategy show that wine and spirit sales in the on trade are on the up and by 2018 spirits sales will have increased from 22% to 24%. This must be a welcome trend for pubs and hotels as this sector of the market provides considerably greater profitability. The mark up on spirits, in particular, is one which hotels are beginning to recognise. Cognacs of exceptional quality, such as Hermitage, provide the customer with a high level of choice and individuality for which they are prepared to pay. Our own on trade customers have seen that adding Hermitage Cognacs to their range can be extremely rewarding.
In a recent list of the Ten Most Expensive Spirits, this bottle of Henry IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne came second, retailing at a cool £1.2 million. Although the cognac is 100 years old most of the value is in the bottle. Made from 24 carat gold and sterling platinum, scattered with 6,500 diamonds, the bottle weighs in at a mere 8kg. You might expect such an extravagant piece to be unique but amazingly that is not the case. Sitting at number one in the same list is a bottle of Tequila worth £2.1 million. Made from white gold, platinum and diamonds its appearance is almost identical, presumably because it had the same designer – Ley.925. Glitzy presentations of cognac have always been popular but at over a million pounds, you would surely expect exclusivity to take precedence over a bottle that imitates Tequila, or Remy Martin’s Louis XIII for that matter! As for the Cognac our 1914 Borderies, distilled 100 years ago takes some beating.
The news of a slowdown in cognac sales in the valuable Chinese markets has originated mainly from the big houses. More than any other they have seen a substantial slowdown in the sales of younger spirits which have, in many ways, been over exploited with fancy and attractive presentations. After all, there is a limit to what you can say about a VSOP regardless of how it is packaged and the Chinese seem to have seen it all. It would appear to the smaller, but higher quality firms, that there is VSOP fatigue and XO malaise hanging over the Charente, and they are unable to provide an explanation. Perhaps the political situation in France has, in a way, had an impact on people’s thinking. The effect of the weakening economy, coupled with a hot and very damp spring bringing a threat of rot and mould on the vines, is enough for any Frenchman to throw up his arms in despair! Don’t be put off though, some of our XO cognacs still give great value for money.
