The French Spirits Forum- Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados

[Kpiz]

Anyone know anything about this? My local had it and was bragging it's half the price than the big local retailer at $100.
 
HINE grand champagne XO Premier cru. I don't think I'm interested. I'm also curious how champagne cognac even works since it's two distinct areas of France? Maybe the distiller brought in champagne and distilled in the cognac style.

As for Hine, they have a very good name as far as Cognac blending houses go. I haven’t tried their stuff unfortunately so I can’t weigh in on this expression, but I know that is a VERY good price for the XO.

While I’m here, I’ll post this interesting beverage I found in my stash of odds and ends. It’s not French, since it was made by a cidery in Oregon, but they call it “pommeau” so that sort of qualifies it. The flavor is pretty nice, much like other pommeaus I’ve had, but it has a slight spirity note at the end, like it was fortified with either neutral spirits or unaged apple brandy. I probably wouldn’t buy it again but I’m glad I tried it. I’ll just stick with my favorite domestically available pommeau from Le Pere Jules.

[tanstaafl2]

On ‎11‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 5:26 PM, HoustonNit said:

Anyone know anything about this? My local had it and was bragging it's half the price than the big local retailer at $100.

 

HINE grand champagne XO Premier cru. I don't think I'm interested. I'm also curious how champagne cognac even works since it's two distinct areas of France? Maybe the distiller brought in champagne and distilled in the cognac style.

 

I have always been a little disappointed by Hine and the other big houses as a general rule, especially when it comes to some of their higher priced bottles. They always seemed to be watered down and have a rather artificial character to them. A blind comparison I did a couple of years ago between Hine Triomphe and an independent bottling of Navarre cognac was a good example of that.   

 

That said I have certainly not tried a lot of "high end" big house cognacs!

 

On ‎11‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 5:33 PM, sku said:

Grand Champagne is one of the sub-regions (crus) of the Cognac region (as is Petite Champagne); it has nothing to do with the Champagne wine region.

A blast from the past! Good to see you post here again SKU as it has been a while and hope you will post more on brandy (and other things as well!) going forward.

[Kpiz]

Well I picked up a bunch of Armagnac yesterday as K&L made some oldies available due to strange circumstances: http://spiritsjournal.klwines.com/klwinescom-spirits-blog/2017/11/8/you-eyes-do-not-deceive-you.html

One of the bottles I bought is the 1992 Domaine du Cardinat, bottled at 23yo and 94 proof. I have one open now and it’s solid - not a ton of nuance, but it does have a ton of oak, dark roast coffee and dark chocolate flavor. For $59.99 it’s a steal. This vintage utilized almost all new oak, which shows through in the very dark color (this one is additive free so the color is natural). I took a pic of it next to ECBP Batch 6, the 140 proofer, and they’re about the same color:

[Spade]

Picked up a bottle of Le Pére Jules, a Pommeau de Normandie. It’s aged five years. 

I don’t believe I’ve tried this brand before but have enjoyed the few glasses of Pommeau de Normandie I’ve tried. 

[HoustonNit]

Kpiz I want that 23yr old 94 proof Armagnac!

[Kpiz]

On 11/10/2017 at 5:56 PM, Spade said:

Picked up a bottle of Le Pére Jules, a Pommeau de Normandie. It’s aged five years. 

I don’t believe I’ve tried this brand before but have enjoyed the few glasses of Pommeau de Normandie I’ve tried. 

Good pick up, that's my favorite domestically-available pommeau. Let us know how you like it when you open it.

[Kpiz]

On 11/10/2017 at 6:10 PM, HoustonNit said:

Kpiz I want that 23yr old 94 proof Armagnac!

The few additional bottles they got sold out before I saw your post, but I can at least set aside a couple ounces for you 

[HoustonNit]

The few additional bottles they got sold out before I saw your post, but I can at least set aside a couple ounces for you [emoji6]

No that's fine and thanks for the offer. It seems like NASA Liquor here gets in some interesting stuff. I'm hoping to find something similar at some point.

[Kpiz]

For anyone in the market for Armagnac, K&L just put three different casks on their website that they are selling on a pre-arrival basis. While I haven't had a chance to sample any of these specific casks, the Lous Pibous I currently have open from this bottler (and imported by K&L) is absolutely fantastic - bold and complex with dark fruit, brown sugar, and spice. In addition, these casks were vetted by both the K&L spirits buyers and some brandy gurus with trusted palates. Act fast, though, because these will likely well out very quickly (the Lous Pibous cask #13 is already down to the last 33 bottles as I type this).

• 1993 L' Encantada 24 Year Old "Lous Pibous #13" Bas-Armagnac

• 1999 L'Encantada 18 Year Old "Lous Pibous #145" Bas-Armagnac

• 1986 L'Encantada 30 Year Old "La Frêche" Bas-Armagnac

[Government Beard]

On 11/9/2017 at 10:30 AM, Kpiz said:

Well I picked up a bunch of Armagnac yesterday as K&L made some oldies available due to strange circumstances: http://spiritsjournal.klwines.com/klwinescom-spirits-blog/2017/11/8/you-eyes-do-not-deceive-you.html

One of the bottles I bought is the 1992 Domaine du Cardinat, bottled at 23yo and 94 proof. I have one open now and it’s solid - not a ton of nuance, but it does have a ton of oak, dark roast coffee and dark chocolate flavor. For $59.99 it’s a steal. This vintage utilized almost all new oak, which shows through in the very dark color (this one is additive free so the color is natural). I took a pic of it next to ECBP Batch 6, the 140 proofer, and they’re about the same color:

 

I need to get ahold of a higher proof Armagnac like this! Cheers.

[HoustonNit]

Your fear is justified - MSRP is $225 on that bottle. There's also a 2000 vintage that P&M Spirits imported and was going for $200. SKU reviewed them a while back and liked them both but I can't bring myself to buy one. I ended up finding a Tertre bottling (I can't recall the vintage right now, somewhere around 2000) in a French online store that I paid much less for and had shipped to my friend in London. I just recently acquired the bottle and haven't had time to dive into it yet but I probably should!

SKU's review (check out the comments as well): http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2016/09/domaine-du-tertre-calvados.html?m=1

Had this last night at a bar for a steal of $8 pour. Very good, I don't see myself replacing Calvados or any brandy as my everyday pour, but it's a nice change.

[Kpiz]

On 12/10/2017 at 7:38 AM, HoustonNit said:

 

Had this last night at a bar for a steal of $8 pour. Very good, I don't see myself replacing Calvados or any brandy as my everyday pour, but it's a nice change.
 

 

Wow, $8 is an absolute steal for a pour of that. I'm impressed you even found it in a bar.

 

Calvados will never replace bourbon as my everyday pour either, but it sure is a delicious alternative. Especially when it's >80 proof.

[HoustonNit]

Wow, $8 is an absolute steal for a pour of that. I'm impressed you even found it in a bar.
 
Calvados will never replace bourbon as my everyday pour either, but it sure is a delicious alternative. Especially when it's >80 proof.

From what I understand it's one of 90 bottles imported in. Got lucky local store brought this and sold some to a local bar that's selling at break even pricing.

[Kpiz]

All French brandy is 15% off at Astor today: http://www.astorwines.com/m.aspx?p=2018-02-22-french-brandy-sale&ref=ribbon

They have quite a few private selections of Armagnac and Calvados right now, so it’s good timing.


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[EarthQuake]

I stopped by a store in San Francisco on a work trip a couple days ago, it was a nice higher end shop but all the allocated bourbon was priced at secondary levels (typical for stores in downtown SF). So, I picked up a 30 year old bottle of Delord Armagnac instead. 

 

 

[Kpiz]

I stopped by a store in San Francisco on a work trip a couple days ago, it was a nice higher end shop but all the allocated bourbon was priced at secondary levels (typical for stores in downtown SF). So, I picked up a 30 year old bottle of Delord Armagnac instead. [emoji3]
 
 

Glad you found something worth taking home. As you said the stores downtown (and throughout much of SF) are pretty pricey. K&L is really the only store south of Market St worth stopping at.

Let me know if you ever want any recommendations for SF.

[Kane]

5 hours ago, EarthQuake said:

I stopped by a store in San Francisco on a work trip a couple days ago, it was a nice higher end shop but all the allocated bourbon was priced at secondary levels (typical for stores in downtown SF). So, I picked up a 30 year old bottle of Delord Armagnac instead. 

 

 

Nice, that 1981 is a particularly good one.

[EarthQuake]

4 hours ago, Kpiz said:

 

Glad you found something worth taking home. As you said the stores downtown (and throughout much of SF) are pretty pricey. K&L is really the only store south of Market St worth stopping at.

Let me know if you ever want any recommendations for SF.

 

I'm back home now but usually go out every year for a work related conference. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[EarthQuake]

1 hour ago, Kane said:

Nice, that 1981 is a particularly good one.

Yes, I just opened it up. It's fantastic. They had the 25 year and this and I figured what the hell, might as well spend a bit more for the vintage stated bottle, as I've yet to have a vintage armagnac that was anything less than great. Seems like I made a good choice.

[Kpiz]

On 3/24/2018 at 7:10 PM, EarthQuake said:

I'm back home now but usually go out every year for a work related conference. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Of course. Shoot me a pm before you come next and I'll be happy to make some recommendations for restaurants, bars, stores, etc. depending on what you're hoping to do. Businesses seem to be turning over here faster than ever so I don't want to give you info that'll be outdated by the time you come back.

[kevinbrink]

This was a gift I believe I know jack about Cognac/Armagnac/Brandy, when I opened it the cork turned to dust fortunately a Makers CS cork fit fine. The little guy in front was in the box as well. Wanted a change of pace tonight and this is doing fine enough.

[Kpiz]

14 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

This was a gift I believe I know jack about Cognac/Armagnac/Brandy, when I opened it the cork turned to dust fortunately a Makers CS cork fit fine. The little guy in front was in the box as well. Wanted a change of pace tonight and this is doing fine enough.

 

It's nice to switch it up once in a while. When I dip into brandy, I tend to stick with Armagnac and Calvados but there's certainly some great cognac out there as well. I tried a '92 vintage Fillioux cognac the other day and it was pretty interesting, tasted like Dimetapp and brown sugar.

 

Anyways, here's some info on Frapin in case you're interested: https://www.cognac-expert.com/cognac-brands/frapin-cognac

[kevinbrink]

1 hour ago, Kpiz said:

It's nice to switch it up once in a while. When I dip into brandy, I tend to stick with Armagnac and Calvados but there's certainly some great cognac out there as well. I tried a '92 vintage Fillioux cognac the other day and it was pretty interesting, tasted like Dimetapp and brown sugar.

 

Anyways, here's some info on Frapin in case you're interested: https://www.cognac-expert.com/cognac-brands/frapin-cognac

I am equally as uneducated with Calvados but my experiences with it I have found more enjoyable which might just be a result of having more of a history with American Apple Brandies and not much experience with grape spirits.

[Kpiz]

3 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

I am equally as uneducated with Calvados but my experiences with it I have found more enjoyable which might just be a result of having more of a history with American Apple Brandies and not much experience with grape spirits.

 

If you ever get the itch to learn about Calvados, Charles Neal's book on the subject is outstanding and worth the $55 IMO. The first one-third of so of the book contains everything you could ever want to know about calvados, including history, laws, appellations, apple types and varieties, soil, pressing techniques, fermentation, aging, bringing casks to bottling strength...it's extensive. And then the remaining two-thirds of the book contains notes on his visits to producers in Normandy.

 

This video by Charles Neal is also a good primer: 

 

Edited April 11, 2018 by Kpiz

[kevinbrink]

3 hours ago, Kpiz said:

 

If you ever get the itch to learn about Calvados, Charles Neal's book on the subject is outstanding and worth the $55 IMO. The first one-third of so of the book contains everything you could ever want to know about calvados, including history, laws, appellations, apple types and varieties, soil, pressing techniques, fermentation, aging, bringing casks to bottling strength...it's extensive. And then the remaining two-thirds of the book contains notes on his visits to producers in Normandy.

 

This video by Charles Neal is also a good primer: 

 

Added the video to my watch later, thanks!