Tag: Vintage Cognacs

We were fascinated to read an interview with Bénédicte Hardy in ‘Frenchly’.  Bénédicte is the fifth generation to be involved with the House of Hardy cognacs, although much of her time has been spent working in the US. Entitled ‘Cognac’s return to Grace’, she describes the rich history of cognac and how in recent years, cognac has evolved into a symbol of both ‘rap stardom’ and ‘highbrow mixology’.  Here at Hermitage, it is that history that we aim to bottle and so a summary follows: In the 17th century, it was English, Irish, and Dutch négociants who really put cognac on the map… Read more

It is with great pleasure and excitement that we introduce to you Alex Johnson, our new National Accounts Manager.  Alex will be responsible for building our already successful Hermitage brand and forging close, supportive customer relationships with both the On and Off Trade.  He has worked in the spirits sector of the drinks industry for more than 10 years and brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge associated with brown spirits and in particular cognacs. More online tastings have been taking place and we have enjoyed some wonderful feedback from the Press.  Joel Harrison writing on the IWSC… Read more

Around this time of the year (Summer 2020) we are anxiously looking at the weather to try and determine if we are going to have a good grape harvest in September. The vines are flowering well and every indication is that we will have a bumper harvest. But where are we going to store all the new cognacs when they are distilled? There is simply not enough room this year as coronavirus has dramatically reduced sales by the big houses. In an industry where America alone can take over a million cases a year, world sales so far in 2020… Read more

After the festivities of Christmas and New Year’s Eve it is time to look to the year ahead, 2020. We are always on the lookout for interesting cognac vintages from the top crus and the latest additions are no exception.  We have many celebration, cognac vintages ending in a zero for those turning 30, 40, 50 years old and so on.. and we are very excited to announce we now have one for centenarians.  Hermitage 1920 Grande Champagne Cognac was distilled a hundred years ago before being aged for over 70 years in oak casks.  The result is spectacular. We… Read more

This year we have had an amazing number of new Hermitage Vintage Cognacs added to the range.  We have been thrilled to find so many exquisite and unique cognacs packed with wonderful aromas and flavours for you to enjoy.  Many are now Gold medal winners as blind judging panels across the globe have also recognised their superior qualities. We have not had the chance to tell you about these three yet: Hermitage Paradis 1893 Grande Champagne Cognac.  This was an extremely lucky find as it is regarded by many as one of the finest vintages to come from this important… Read more

There are all manner of cognac classifications found on bottle labels, but what do they actually mean?  Most of the generic terms below describe cognacs made by blending hundreds, or even thousands, of cognacs together to produce a vast quantity of a homogenous product for sale on supermarket shelves.  As demand increases younger and younger cognacs are used in these blends so sugar syrup and caramel colouring are added to obscure the fieriness on the tongue and lack of appealing colour. VS stands for Very Special.  Also known as *** (3-star) or Premium, the youngest eau-de-vie in the blend must… Read more