Category: News

Even in these times of austerity there is still money to be found for expensive tastes in alcohol.  Well, that is certainly how it would appear reading the recent news columns.  According to a Onepoll survey, the average Britain spends £49,581 on alcohol during their adult lifetime and those with really expensive tastes manage to rack their average bill up to a whopping £167,000.  Perhaps they are the customers who frequent Gigi’s restaurant in Mayfair where a cocktail, created in honour of the James Bond actress Grace Jones, retails for £9,000?  Made from 1990 vintage Champagne and 1888 vintage Armagnac,… Read more

More than 1000 people have paid $100 for a ‘Dragon Dog’, the world’s most expensive hot dog.  At the Vancouver restaurant ‘Dougie Dog’, the bratwurst is served soaked in $2000-a-bottle cognac, fried in truffle oil and topped with Kobe beef and fresh lobster.  The idea behind the 12″ hot dog was to provide “something super tasty but also high-end” and customers who have been tempted have all absolutely loved it.  Hot dogs are normally classed as Fast Food –  quick and cheap – but this one can profess to be neither.  It must be ordered 12 hours in advance and with… Read more

According to market analysts, 25% of European spirits imports in some Asian countries  are counterfeit. The refilling of empty high-end bottles is now the gold standard for counterfeiters, especially in China.  So, it is particularly good news to see the launch of ‘Capseal’, a device which prevents bottles from being refilled fraudulently.  A chip is connected to an antenna which is inserted on the neck of the bottle, just above the cork. When the cap is removed, the tag is mechanically deactivated.  By using a smartphone or NFC device to scan the chip embedded in the tag, anyone can easily verify the authenticity of the bottle, confirming that… Read more

We are delighted to announce that three of our new Hermitage Provenance range of single estate cognacs, produced for the Asian market, have won medals at the 2014 Cognac Masters Awards. The Hermitage Provenance Grand Champagne 10 year old, Grand Champagne 25 year old and Petite Champagne 30 year old were all awarded Masters Medals. This exciting array of awards proves that it is not just us that think our cognacs are the best, the judges were obviously bowled over too! Yet another accolade for our exceptional Hermitage Cognac Range – single estate, luxury, vintage cognacs with age statements – surely… Read more

There was great excitement in Bradford on Avon on Friday morning as the Tour of Britain came through our small, Wiltshire town for the first time.  Even more excitement ensued when we found that the cyclists would be racing straight past our front door with Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish among them.  The Tour of Britain, which was revived in 2004, is now Britain’s biggest professional cycle race so, to celebrate its success over the last 10 years and cheer the riders on, we joined our neighbours with a toast of Hermitage 10 year old Grande Champagne Cognac –… Read more

On Monday, 225 years ago, the Storming of Bastille took place.  The medieval fortress and prison in Paris, known as the Bastille, represented royal authority in the centre of the city. The prison only contained seven inmates at the time but the storming was a symbol of the abuses of the monarchy and its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution. It’s a very special day in France so how about something equally special to drink on 14 July?  This bottle of Jules Robin Cognac was distilled the very same year of the conflict, 225 years ago.

Share price rises despite poor performance Rémy Cointreau is enjoying a stock market lift after rumours of a takeover bid by Brown-Forman – the makers of Jack Daniel’s and Southern Comfort – raised the group’s share price by 3%. The group has been badly hurt by a Chinese government crackdown on extravagant spending, with sales of the company’s flagship cognac falling 32% in the final quarter of last year, following a 30% drop in sales during the third-quarter.  It is reported that the offer was flatly refused and it is difficult to see how a family run business would be prepared to lose… Read more

Phthalate ruling may change All of the big cognac houses have seen their profits in China fall lately.  This is thanks not only to the Chinese government’s restrictions on luxury gifts but also to its refusal to accept cognac containing even minimal levels of phthalates.  The latter has become a real problem for the industry as most aged cognacs have passed through phthalate-laden plastic pipes at some point in their lives.  The levels allowed in China are currently far more stringent than the rest of the world but according to a member of the BNIC Board, this is set to… Read more

Launched recently at VINEXPO 2014 in Hong Kong, our new Hermitage Provenance Cognac range was designed specifically for the Asian market.  All have age statements and bear the hallmarks of luxury, single estate cognacs.  The range currently comprises 6 and 10 year old in our trademark ‘Exception’ bottle,  20 year old in the ‘Helios’ carafe and 25 and 30 year old (pictured) in our new ‘Eden’ carafe.  Following extensive research, the range was launched in a new style of packaging, featuring  the iconic Charantais still, which encompasses the Asian desire for recognisable and regal presentation boxes.

The environment in which you experience a wine has a profound effect on how you will perceive it to taste, according to Charles Spence, an Oxford University professor. His research proves that lighting and music can act as digital seasoning for food and wine.  A red room helps to bring out the fruity notes in the wine whilst in a green room the fruit profile disappears and the wine appears closed.  Although music has less of an effect on taste perception than colour, Spence is convinced that different types of music influence our taste buds – colourblind tasters experience huge… Read more