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Chapters of Ampersand Et No 1

Posted / in The Bottle Story and tagged

Cognac bottle
Chapters of Ampersand Et No 1

There is always someone in the  cognac industry  trying to come up with a really eye-catching design and the Chapters of Ampersand Et No 1 is certainly that.  Made from Swedish crystal the bottle was designed by Goran Warff of Kosta Boda.  Renowned throughout the world for his crystal art creations, he was joined on the project by Folke Andersson, the brains behind Gronstedts Cognac.  Tiffon Cognac’s Maitre de Chai, Richard Braastad, was the creator of the contents – a blend of some Grande Champagne vintages (presumably not Tiffon’s own as they are based in Fins Bois) with some 1870 pre-Phylloxera.   Only 300 bottles have been produced and each carries a price tag of £5950.  There is no doubt that its ‘chilli pepper’ appearance would make quite a talking point but so to, we reckon, would be the difficulty of pouring it!

At Hermitage Cognacs we use the traditional ‘Exception’ bottle, or a carafe, to give a professional appearance and ‘pourability’!  Take a look at our range here.

 

Emerging Markets may be Key to Cognac Sales Growth

Posted / in News and tagged

At last some good news for the cognac industry which has been hit hard in recent years.  Rabobank’s Q3 Spirit Report states that the first couple of months of 2015 have been a ‘little more upbeat’.   “Asian markets finally saw a lift because of the Chinese New Year, starting a turnaround from the tough market conditions over the past two years” said a senior analyst.  The positive momentum gained has also impacted on other Asian markets, especially emerging ones such as Vietnam and Malaysia.  New opportunities for cognac sales are springing up in other regions too.  Some sub-Saharan countries are seeing significant economic growth which is opening up new commercial opportunities and in North America, volume sales rose by 12.2% last year.  This strong performance firms up the US’s position as the number one export market for cognac, taking 59.9 million bottles.  An ongoing rise in demand for brown spirits in the US will create yet more opportunities so the quantity imported is expected to grow significantly this year.   We have certainly noticed an increase in online sales to the US here at Brandyclassics – take a look at what we have on offer.

Online Sales Burgeoning

Posted / in News and tagged

Almost 30% of all beer, wine and spirit sales in the UK were bought on line in the first quarter of this year – the highest growth since the end of 2010.  In the wine sector it was reported that global online sales have increased 600% over the last 7 years.  Some countries are already ahead of the curve in terms of customers embracing the buying of wine over the internet. In the UK for example, off-trade sales already account for 11% of the market annually, this is 20% in China and just 4% in the US.  The British public certainly seem keen to keep broadening their online shopping experiences.  Here at Brandyclassics we have seen a 40% increase increase in online sales over the last 12 months.  With the level of expansion in alcohol online sales so far this year being double that seen during the same period in 2012, one has to assume that an upturn in the economy may also be contributing to recent results.  Customers with more money in their pockets must be good news all round!  Take a look at our online shop here.

Another New Vintage Cognac in Stock

Posted / in Brandy Bottle Reviews, News, News from the Brandy Houses and tagged ,

Yet another wonderful addition to the Hermitage range, we have just taken receipt of our new 1965 vintage.  Distilled 50 years ago it is perfect for special birthdays, anniversaries or to just enjoy as a special old vintage.  The Hermitage 1965 comes from Réaux, one of the top growing areas of Petite Champagne and has a rich, intense flavour of bitter chocolate, cardamom and roasted almonds.  Although most of the Hermitage collection come from Grande Champagne, this magical, soft cognac from Petite Champagne joins the select few that we offer from this fine region.  Try it for yourself:

 

The Charente Scene – Summer 2015

Posted / in News and tagged

It’s surprising how moods can change with some decent weather. On a recent visit to the Charente region we met with some of our usual colleagues and talked with viniculturists.  All were well pleased with the vine development and weather conditions which have been instrumental in ensuring that so far, this year’s crop could be one of the best. How things have changed, a couple of months ago it was all doom and gloom because of torrential rain and cold weather; fears ran amok that the harvest would be poor! We had a good look at several vineyards and certainly the good weather has been almost too good as many vines have not yet been trimmed and the vine development has been really fast.  Away from the vineyards, most of the growers and small cognac houses are doing their European rounds, visiting their distributors.  They try to get all their business done before July and August, when they disappear on holiday, before returning to start the harvest and distillation preparation in the autumn.

Read more about the cognac industry on our Information Page.

 

Sniffer Dogs To Detect Phylloxera

Posted / in News, The History of Cognac and tagged

The Phylloxera louse decimated vineyards across Europe in the late 1800s by attacking the roots of the vines.  Many wine and cognac producers lost their livelihoods as a result.  Keeping vines Phylloxera free is therefore vital to the survival of the industry so this latest announcement from Melbourne University is extremely exciting.  Scientists are researching the effectiveness of sniffer dogs in detecting the existence of the louse in the initial stages.  Dogs already trained as ‘sniffers’ can easily be taught to detect other scents and it is hoped that this will extend to early stage Phylloxera at depths of up to a metre below soil level.  We have a number of Very Old Cognacs produced in the pre-Phylloxera era when Folle Blanche was the most commonly used vine.

Read more news from the cognac industry here.

 

Pineau is the taste of summer

Posted / in Learning about Brandy, News and tagged

Sitting outside on a warm, balmy evening is the perfect time to try Pineau des Charentes. Made in the cognac producing region of France, newly distilled eau de vie is mixed with grape juice before being aged. The result is a wonderfully fresh, fruity flavour and with an abv of 17 – 18%, it is perfect for every occasion. Serve cold as an aperitif, or a dessert wine, or if you’re looking for a longer drink, it is the ideal base for a summer cocktail – try our Pineau Royale recipe for something truly sumptuous. Most of our wonderful selection of white, rosé and red pineau have age statements and remember, the older the pineau, the more intense the flavour. So celebrate the warmer weather with a taste of summer with Pineau des Charentes – view the whole range here.

 

Original Gifts For Father’s Day

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Whether you’re buying for a father, grandfather, father-in-law or perhaps a first-time father, we have lots of original gifts from which you can choose.

Our vast range of cognacs, armagnacs and calvados all have age statements so you can buy one that matches his year of birth, or his age, or maybe the year that you were born – truly original gifts, creating wonderful memories this Father’s Day.

Exceptionally delicious, our pure, luxury cognacs, armagnacs and calvados are always an absolute joy to receive and a real pleasure to give, helping you convey your appreciation this Father’s Day.

You can view the whole range here and if you need any advice just give us a call on 01225 863988.

David on Technical Topics – The Colour of Cognac Part 1.

Posted / in Brandy Education, How to make Cognac and tagged

There is a long held view amongst cognac drinkers that the darker a cognac appears the longer it has been aged in the barrel and therefore the better and more valuable it is. There is, up to a point, some truth in this view since during the natural ageing process, the tannins in the wood add colour to the barrels’ contents.

Cognacs are aged in barrels made from one of two types of French oak, Limousin or Tronçais. The former comes from the Limousin forests north east of Angouleme and is a fairly wide grain oak whilst the latter, which is a closer grained wood, comes from near the Burgundy area of France. Clearly the wider grain oak allows greater penetration of the spirit into the wood and so enables a faster maturation.  For this reason the Limousin oak is the most commonly used.

Prior to use the oak barrels are toasted to remove any harmful tannins.  This can be done at different levels varying from quite light to heavy toasting.   The heavier a barrel is toasted the darker the cognac will be but as a consequence, it will have more bitterness to its flavour and this can take many years to disappear.  Most cognacs are kept in new barrels for a short period immediately after distillation before being transferred to old barrels where colouring occurs more slowly.  Barrel size also influences cognac colour since the smaller the barrel, the greater the surface area that can come into contact with the cognac.

The colour of cognac is a very technical subject but one thing is certain, colour is not necessarily an indicator of age.  Indeed we have some cognacs that have been stored in oak barrels for sixty or seventy years and retained a light colour.  A wonderful example is our Hermitage Réaux 65 Year Old.

Next month I will discuss how the colour can be altered artificially in order to create a false image.

If you would like to learn more about cognac and other brandies, subscribe to our newsletter here.

Old Brandy Bottle Valuation Service

Posted / in Brandy Bottle Reviews, Learning about Brandy, News and tagged

We are pleased to announce the introduction of our new Valuation Service. In response to an increasing number of requests for Old Brandy Bottle Valuations we have formalised the service that we offer.

If you would like to know more about the history and value of an old bottle of brandy, just send us the information requested on our Valuation Service page. You will then receive an indication of its worth – over or under £250 – and whether or not a detailed, historical valuation is recommended. If the latter is required you will be able to purchase your Valuation online.

Sometimes rare bottles can be worth substantial sums of money – take a look at our Very Old Cognacs.

If you would like to learn more about cognac and other brandies, subscribe to our newsletter here.