Last weekend in The Times luxury supplement, Luxx, Jane MacQuitty wrote about the best bottles to give as ‘gluggable gifts’. Obviously we were delighted to see our extremely popular Hermitage Cafe 20 Cognac from Grande Champagne featured. Jane described it as ‘Magnificent mocha, vanilla, wood-smoke and marzipan-licked top-drawer cognac from a great producer’. A Cognac Masters 2020 Gold Medal Winner, the Cafe 20 has also been described by TV presenter and award-winning wine expert Olly Smith as “this is as good as it gets and it’s mind-blowing with after-dinner coffee”. Perfect to enjoy with friends at Christmas; you can read more… Read more

December is well underway so its time to turn our attention to present shopping. But, what do you buy for the person who has everything? Well, we’ve put together a list of our favourite, luxury drinks that will go down a storm this Christmas. Not only do they taste fantastic, some of the packaging is exquisite and will grace any sideboard with aplomb. The three, classic French brandies of cognac, armagnac and calvados really come into their own at this time of year as their typical flavours of roasted nuts, spices and dried fruits complement the Christmas fayre brilliantly. We… Read more

This Christmas we are looking forward to drinking some very popular cocktails at home. So, to make things easy, we are offering Cocktail Kits at discounted prices – they will be on sale throughout December on our home page. The Kits comprise all you need to make these delicious cocktails in the comfort of your own home throughout the festive season: Negroni To make the perfect classic Negroni cocktail, use equal parts gin, vermouth and bitters poured over ice, stirred and garnished with orange peel. The Negroni Kit includes: Mosgaard Organic Dry Gin Montanaro Vermouth Rosso Di Torino Montanaro Bitter… Read more

Provenance There are hundreds of small cognac houses, most sell their young brandies to the big houses, but a few keep their special treasures tucked away for those who appreciate the golden nectar.  Hermitage Cognac Limited has, for decades, sourced cognacs from the very finest producers in the Premier Cru of cognac, known as Grande Champagne.  Perhaps because of our exposure to many small family creators of fine brandies, we occasionally find cognacs hidden away in family cellars, often referred to as ‘Paradis’.   These innermost chambers house small batches of cognac in glass bonbonnes and sometimes contain cognacs that were… Read more

We always like to introduce new vintages into our Hermitage Cognac range. The MD spends many hours visiting some of the many distillers, usually situated in Grande Champagne, looking for our next cognac masterpiece. Our latest find is a 2004 Vintage Cognac and for a cognac that is not yet 20 years old, it is sensational. This Hermitage 2004 Grande Champagne Cognac comes from the gentle slopes around the town of Segonzac, in the centre of the premier cru.  A truly amazing cognac it has a complexity of flavours that would enhance many, much older spirits. Aromas of cocoa, walnuts,… Read more

It is that time of year when we are all looking for Christmas gift ideas. What to buy the person who has everything? Or the person you really want to treat? Well, to help a little with your festive shopping we have put together some Gift Guides for Him & Her. We have lots of wonderful, special products on our website but here are a few of our favourites: For Him Toutain Reserve 3 Year Old Calvados Distilled, naturally fermented ciders are aged in French oak casks to produce a calvados with a strong palate and a lingering flavour of… Read more

Bargain Brandies Throughout November Our Offers this month are some of our best ever!  We will be offering different products, at up to 50% Off, throughout the month of November so, do keep checking back to find Black Friday Month bargains. Mosgaard Organic Single Malt Port Wine Cask Whisky This Port Wine Cask Whisky is Mosgaard’s newest whisky, it is dark and intense with vinous and spicy sweetness.  The barrels are the secret, built from two types of old Port Wine casks. Staves from both Ruby and Tawny port casks are mixed to make the Mosgaard casks.  The result is… Read more

A one off addition to our Montal range has just arrived; the Montal 1962 Bas Armagnac. The grapes for this armagnac were harvested in 1962. What a wonderful year of birth, but then we are rather biased at Brandyclassics Headquarters! It is rare to find these old bottles of Montal Armagnac so this is another gem.  It comes from the top cru, is presented in a very attractive bottle and has fruity flavours with toffee and coffee on the tail. So, what else happened in 1962? It certainly found its place in history as the start of the Cuban Missile… Read more

This is apple harvest time and Friday 20th October is World Calvados Day. To celebrate we thought you might like to try something new. Apple Calvados is a lovely, warming drink to enjoy on an autumnal evening: Place a piece of root ginger and a cinnamon stick in a pan over a low heat. Pour in 50ml of Toutain Reserve 3yo Calvados and 150ml of fresh apple juice. Stirring constantly, heat the cocktail but do not let it boil. As soon as it warms up to 70/80 degrees C, pour it into a glass and serve. And if calvados is… Read more

In the latest edition of ‘The Spirits Business’ we read that “Despite global inflation causing the price of spirits to rise, research shows that consumers are still more willing to purchase higher end products ….. Specifically Cognac, which remains the most expensive category of all spirits, is up by 132%”. Hermitage Cognacs has always been positioned at the very top end of the category but how does it compare to the competition? Many high end cognacs are sold in fancy presentations, often made from embellished crystal, and sold as rare, limited editions. But what about the liquid inside? The cognac… Read more