Perhaps because we tend to think of cognac as the venerable grandfather of luxury spirits, the image of mixing it with anything which may contaminate its qualities has isolated it to the peak of individualism – only to be enjoyed by a certain type of aged gentleman, usually smoking a large cigar. On the other hand, perhaps we should thank the big cognac brands who, because of over selling the golden nectar to the Asian markets, are now forced to produce over sugared and caramelised young cognacs which are more readily accepted as suitable for cocktails. During the mid-nineteenth century… Read more

There have been some interesting new products launched this past quarter, all with interesting price tags!  Here are our thoughts on 4 of them: Courvoisier Tribute Borderies has been released in 5 demi-johns costing £51,500 each.  This 60 year old cognac comes from a single estate in the lesser known Borderies cru and if presented bottled, works out at £1197 per bottle.  Borderies is the smallest cru and produces some very fine cognac such as our award winning Hermitage 1914.  Aged, we estimate, for 70 years this exceptional vintage can be purchased for £300 less at £895.

Frapin has launched a 25 year old vintage cognac, laid down in 1988 and bottled at 41.5% abv.  With style characteristic of a Grande Champagne cognac, just 1000 bottles have been produced retailing at £160 a bottle.  Compare this with our own award winning Grande Champagne cognacs – Hermitage Chez Richon 1988 which retails for just under £100 and Hermitage Segonzac 25 year old priced at just over £100.

Cointreau Noir is a blend of orange liqueur and Fine Champagne Cognac retailing at £39.95 for 70cl. Before you spend that kind of money though, take a look at La Grande Josiane – a subtle alliance between Bas Armagnac and orange liqueur.  An ideal combination as the lower distillation range of armagnac produces a stronger fruit flavour and to top it all, the purchase price is under £25.

The first release from their recently acquired Domaines vineyards in Bonneuil, Hine 2005 is a single estate, Grande Champagne cognac retailing at £73.95.  Quite a price for such a young cognac – compare it with our award winning Hermitage 2000 (£38.62) and Hermitage 10 year old (£48.67) – both more mature Grande Champagne cognacs, also from single estates.

Many of the established growers and merchants recognised the need to establish a body to control and manage the quality and sale of cognac. Much of the preliminary work had been done before the Second World War and a great deal of de facto independence from the government had already been gained – the Charente region had been divided into crus in 1909, as a natural consequence of the system of Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée,  and  the geographical areas had been delimited by government in 1936. During the War a wine and eaux de vie bureau was created to try and… Read more

Cognac expert Ed Bates, speaking at a tasting in London recently, highlighted the stylistic and commercial stranglehold that the big four houses have on the industry (they have 80% of the cognac market).   In order to compete, most of the other houses “try to copy Hennessy XO because the world, or Asia, thinks that cognac tastes like Hennessy XO”.  They do have another option though, he says, which in the longer term could be more beneficial.  Making the individuality of their terroir (which includes factors such as the skill of the distiller, still, casks, cellar etc.) their unique selling point… Read more

The ‘Call Time On Duty’ Campaign, spearheaded last year by The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), successfully resulted in the government’s alcohol and duty escalator (ADE) being scrapped in the 2014 budget.  The Campaign set out to have the automatic year-on-year tax increases abolished as they were undermining the competitiveness of the industry.  This is great news for the UK Spirits Market because since the ADE’s introduction in 2008, tax on spirits has increased by a staggering 44%.  Duty is currently calculated at a rate of £28.22 per litre of pure alcohol.  This means that for a 70cl bottle… Read more

A Good Vintage? Every year, around this time we start to get the full picture of the cognac production for 2014.  Most of the new spirit will have been distilled and placed in new oak barrels and for the first time we are able to establish both the quality and quantity produced.  Last September was dry and sunny and the grapes grew well during the year.  Despite storms earlier in the year, which affected some areas to the west of Cognac, this year’s harvest was good.  Indeed so good, it seems likely to have exceeded the big 1988 harvest.  It… Read more

The whisky industry is not dissimilar to the cognac industry in many ways.  It has lots of small producers and age statements are very important to its target audience.  However, whisky producers have always been more aware of consumer trends than cognac producers and are constantly looking for new marketing routes.  But this latest idea of selling whisky in a can has to be the most unusual yet. The most unusual presentation we have had to date is an apple in a bottle – how do they do that?