Cognac, Armagnac, Brandy and more

I do love a nice snifter of any of the above.

There is no question that I love the XO's from some of the more famous French Cognac houses. But I also love the different tastes and styles from France, Armagnac, Calvados, the Asbach Uralt from Germany, Stock Brandy from Italy, not to mention their Grappas, to the American Brandys.

I know everyone has their favorites, mine used to be Delamain Grande Champagne Cognac, but its be light years since I have had that. Today, I would say Courvoisier VSOP is my regular cognac.

I'd be interested in hearing from others about their likes and dislikes when it comes to drinking these.

Ron, I too love a snifter of these. I am particular fond of Calvados because IMO quality can equal that of the best Cognac and Armagnac at much more modest prices; Armagnac in particular has prices which are getting silly.

For me the venal sin in these drinks is caramel flavouring in the same way as heavy oak flavouring with wine. A lot of popular brands suffer from this.

For Cognac, I agree about Delamain and also like Hine. Our nearest serious wine merchants stocks the lovely range from Pierre Ferrand which starts at a reasonable price level; Christmas before last my wife gave a small sampler case of their range (except the top one) and it proved a great present with a subtly varied palette of flavours.

For Calvados, I am a firm fan of Roger Groult whose farm is quite close to where my daughter lives in Normandy. Calvados Dupont is very good too. At a tasting last weekend the king of cider and perry, Éric Bordelet, produced a sample of his Calvados not yet on sale as it matures in his cellars. His claims that at 52° it is in an undiluted state. It was certainly more mouth-filling, fiery and virile than a Groult on similar age; worth waiting for if the price is not exaggerated.

I have a weakness for the clear coloured dry fruit brandies (in French eaux de vie blanches or alcools blancs) whose heartland production seems to lie in Alsace, Black Forest Germany and northern Switzerland. Poire (pear), Framboise (raspberry), Baies de Houx (holly berries), Mirabelle and Quetsche (plums), Kirsch (cherries) and others from good producers can be delicious. Most should be served very cool to bring out the fruit flavour above the alcohol.

Ron, you seem to be mixing up types and categories here.

Brandy is the category. Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados and American Brandy are types of Brandy. Asbach Uralt is a brand of brandy.

But to your question: In Cognac I particularly like Pierre Ferrand Grande Champagne Ambre for a great combination of exceptional quality; a fine, smooth style that is more about the warmth of embers than the fiery flame of a blaze (which other lesser cognacs seem to rely on); and age-mellowed richness.

If you're looking for the best American Brandy, there's lots of choices now. Germain-Robin is every bit the equal of some of the best Cognacs. Unfortunately for us consumer types, the prices are getting to be equal too! But there's Clear Creek Distillery in Oregon, St. George Spirits down in California, and a whole host of small micro-distillers that are making some truly fine product.

I'm also a fan of Brandy de Jerez, from Spain, where they use the solera aging system. Makes for some mighty fine sipping. And another is Metax---not technically a brandy in a way because it has grape additives in it, but it's still good. The Five Star is awesome.

But my preferred choice of brandy these days is in eau-de-vie, the clear, usually unaged brandy made from pure fruits. They are incredible as digestifs.

Hoke, thanks for the clarification
Brandy the Category, the others I mentioned are the types

But my preferred choice of brandy these days is in eau-de-vie, the clear, usually unaged brandy made from pure fruits. They are incredible as digestifs.

Yes. For those of us who love smelling wine, eau-de-vie is a clear choice because there's so much fruit to enjoy smelling. I tend to spend more time lingering and sniffing with these than with wine. (Of course the different alcohol percentage plays a role in that as well!)

But my preferred choice of brandy these days is in eau-de-vie, the clear, usually unaged brandy made from pure fruits. They are incredible as digestifs.

Yes. For those of us who love smelling wine, eau-de-vie is a clear choice because there's so much fruit to enjoy smelling. I tend to spend more time lingering and sniffing with these than with wine. (Of course the different alcohol percentage plays a role in that as well!)

Yeah, kinda figures, dunnit: you generally prefer your wines to be essential and "unspoofed" and not massively manipulated or confected, so you prefer your brandies to be pure, essential, focused, and mostly or totally untouched by long term oak aging.

And there are few things more pure in expression than twenty one bushels of freshly picked fruit reduced down into one bottle of eau-de-vie!

I'm with Hoke, My fav house is Pierre Ferrand, my fav is Selection des Anges with at $139 is incomparable except to Delamain which is my other weekness. When I feel rich, I will open my bottles of Ancestrale and 1975 Vintage but I will be happy to sip SdA.

I use to drink more fromt he major houses and still regularly open Courvoisier and Remy but I find them too muddled with the added caramel in there. Another brand that I'll do is Tessier's numbered bottles (indicating vintage but not really allowed to at that point in time).

As for grappa, anyone here fans of Levi Romano? I have but just one bottle left before he died. Anyone have recommendations as to how long I can hang onto this one for?

I'm with Hoke, My fav house is Pierre Ferrand, my fav is Selection des Anges with at $139 is incomparable except to Delamain which is my other weekness. When I feel rich, I will open my bottles of Ancestrale and 1975 Vintage but I will be happy to sip SdA.

I use to drink more fromt he major houses and still regularly open Courvoisier and Remy but I find them too muddled with the added caramel in there. Another brand that I'll do is Tessier's numbered bottles (indicating vintage but not really allowed to at that point in time).

As for grappa, anyone here fans of Levi Romano? I have but just one bottle left before he died. Anyone have recommendations as to how long I can hang onto this one for?

Hey, big spender: I don't have a 1975! And that's just wrong. Yup, the Anges is the way to go---I actually like it more than the 50 year old I tried at the same time. Go figyah.

Delamain is a nice alternative. ahem.

Not familiar enough with Tessier to comment with any authority.

Grappa: I have a bottle of Brolio Grappa di Sangiovese given from the hands of Baron Ricasoli (not the current, his father),that's one of the best I''ve ever had. Once tasted that (sparingly) on a friend and local spirits writer and he said, "Damn. This makes me go back and re-evaluate everything I've ever thought about grappa. It's incredible." Come to Portland (the one in Oregon) and I'll let you have a taste. (You can have it alongside a bottle of Fontanafredda Grappa di Barolo, my last remaining bottle. It doesn't suck either.)