Hennessy

[chef koo]

2 weeks ago it was the bartenders birthday at the restaurant. we went to a restaurant for some appetizers and some drinks. i had a bit of sake. i took the bartender to the bar to buy him a drink. i told him to pick anything he wanted. he asked if i was sure. of course i was sure. he asked for a snifter of henessey. $35!!!! for that?!!!! well i bought it for him anyways. he told me to try it and i did. it was alright. not $35 alright but it was alright. about 15 minutes later he told me to try it again. but asked me to sniff it before i sipped. i sniffed. my nose was filled with a definative and profound deep, dark, rich, caramel, butter scotch, aroma. i was won over. i sipped and the taste was just the same. it was smooth and flavoruful. i think i found a new favorite drink. just had to share that with everyone

[eatrustic]

Interestingly I just tried Henessey XO last night for the first time as well. I've had a bottle that I received as a gift a couple of years ago and being more of an Armagnac drinker I had let it work it's way to the back of the liquor cabinet waiting, I suppose, for one of those special occasions.

I poured myself a snifter and was also very pleasantly surprised by the depth and richness. Is this not due, as with bourbon, to the char in the barrels? And is it indicative of most good cognacs? Or is it a little over the top, albeit very pleasant?

[chef koo]

from what i've been told the butter scotch aroma comes from allowing the henessey to warm up a bit. which is why you must rest the snifter in your whole hand and have all your fingers wrapping around it to get up to temperature. i think this is the common thing with all congac's. i tried remy the other day and it was quite similar. i actually found it a bit smoother than the henessey

[Apicio]

I got started on Henessy VSOP around 1973 when after tasting Remy Martin and Le Courvoisier, I wanted to try something different from from what my two friends have kind of settled on. I was living in Toronto then and I remember asking my brother-in-law to buy me some when he came on business trips to Calgary after worked moved me there. I used to stock up too on them when I came back for visits to Toronto because they were not offered by the Alberta Liquor Board. And then I discovered that the least costly ones can be obtained on the duty-free shops along the US-Canada border. I would buy what was allowed every time I crossed the border and at US$45 per 750 ml bottle (this was early 80s) that was how I accumulated my cache of Henessy XOs. I suspect that ultimately, the quality and appeal of a particular brand of cognac rises or fall with the decisions taken by the house blender. This is specially true of the major cognac houses that draw on more or less the same source. From time to time I will be treated to a particularly impressive sample of expensive cognac (such as when Sam in Chicago offered me a dollop of Pierre Ferand Abel in a plastic sampling beaker or when the same brother-in-law offered me a sampling from his beautiful bottle of Louis XIII?.) but time and time again I would fall back on my preferred after-dinner spirit. I am content to think that my first experience hardwired me for it.

[eje]

...just had to share that with everyone

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Great story chef koo!

On the nights you don't feel like spending $35, I will note that there are a couple of brandy makers in the US that are doing a fine job making great Alambic brandies.

I recently picked up a bottle of Germain-Robin's Fine Alambic Brandy, and feel it can go head to head with any similar VSOP Cognac. They also make a number of more expensive brandies and varietal grappas.

I have yet to try it; but, it is my understanding that Jepson's Rare Alambic brandy is also very good.

[NulloModo]

So how would you compare the base Courvossier or Hennessey vs. the XO stuff? I picked up a bottle of the cheapest Courvossier once (either VS or VSOP, can't remember) just to try out the cognac thing. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't really good either. Is the difference between different grades of the same brand of Cognac on par with the difference between say a $20 bottle of bourbon and a $50 bottle?

[percyn]

If you really good cognac for the price, try Henessey Paradis

["T"]

If you really good cognac for the price, try Henessey Paradis

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Paradis is getting stupid $$$$. That's what my wife calls it when I spend that kind of money on wine/spirits.

Hennessy XO, Camus XO both very good yet different in style.

Chef Koo, you didn't mention which grade of Cognac you tried?

Just curious.

[chef koo]

well i do'nt know much about the grades but it was $35 for a snifter so i assume we're talking about the cream of the crop. what are the grades? i know XO means something but i'm not sure what. also what category does congac fall under? or is it it's own drink

[ScottNYC]

Everything you need to know about cognac...

http://www.bluekitchen.net/brandy_cognac.html

[TongoRad]

Just to add a bit more detail on the label designations (these refer to minimum amounts of time the youngest component of the blend has spent in the barrel)-

VS- 2.5 years

VO and VSOP- 4.5 years

XO and Napoleon- 6 years

Some houses, such as Pierre Ferrand, age their cognacs considerably longer and as such don't use those designations. The Abel, as mentioned upthread, is aged for 45 years- quite expensive- I haven't yet had the pleasure. I like the Reserve myself, which has been aged for 20 years.

[Mallet]

My favourite cognac right now is Otard 55. It's really hard to find in Canada (I had to get my bottle from a friend who was visiting France), but well worth the search!

[chef koo]

which brand of congac is considered best? i know it's a matter of preference but in general which congac would most avid congac drinkers consider best?

[Apicio]

Two and a half thousands of years ago, when there were few beautiful women and lots of brave men and gods were hovering over them to dictate who was the most this and the most that, it was easier to zero in on Helen as the most beautiful of all. Now-a-days claiming something to be the mostest will just generate a lot of discussion but will hardly settle anything. Take for example a “simple” spirit like vodka. For the last ten years Grey Goose claims in their print ads that it was rated number one. And then three weeks ago a panel assembled by a journalist at the New York Times had a tasting of premium vodkas and comes off with the so unpremium Smirnoff acing the expensive ones. Although I went out once to pick up a bottle of Grey Goose just to see what the experts found in it, I remain unconvinced and so still automatically reach for a bottle of the domestic (and a lot cheaper) Iceberg when in the liquor store. And I suspect that I will continue doing so inspite of what the New York Time’s panel’s most recent findings.

But to go back to Chef Koo’s question, the hierarchy of cognacs (VS, VSOP, Napoleon, Xo, etc) is determined by official age and price but that does not necessarily determine quality. You and you alone create that trancendent experience in your mind so allow no god or panel of gods dictate it to you while you keep on tasting new ones.

[TongoRad]

chef koo- like Apicio I'd encourage you to continue to try as many Cognacs as you can to find out which ones you 'connect' with, for lack of a better term. But I think I know what you're looking for, and that may be a place to start. With that in mind I don't think you can go wrong with either the Pierre Ferrand or Delamain, both highly respected.

Another thing to keep in mind is the district designation which you may find on the label (but again- don't let the lack of a 'pedigree' keep you from drinking something that you enjoy). This refers to the area where the grapes are grown- Grand Champagne is the best, sort of like the bullseye on a target, it is surrounded by Petit Champagne and Borderies, then by the Fins Bois, and then by the Bons Bois.

I hope this helps.

[chef koo]

you guys misunderstood. i know it's a matter of preference. i have my own personal favorite. i'm just wondering which is considered best. not for my benefit. i'm not going to start drinking a certain congac because it's considered best. i'm jsut curious. i'm not looking for a debate. i simply want to know which congac at large would most say is best. is it hennesey? remy? camus? or maybe the more accurate question is which is the most popular

[Apicio]

Sorry there Chef Koo, a debate was what I was actually trying to avoid. The most popular? Well, then, a great majority of people I know would order Remy Martin by name.