Ragnaud Sabourin No 4 VS

Ragnaud Sabourin No 4 VS

Brandy: Cognac
From: Grande Champagne
House: Ragnaud Sabourin
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Copper
ABV: 41%

N: Raisins, white grapes, green apples, cloves, cinnamon.

M: Light body, cool, loosens, slightly astringent.

T: Sweet sour. White grapes, green apples, damson jam, cinnamon, hints of vanilla, hints of guava.

F: Medium. Cacao nibs, vanilla, damson jam, white grapes.

Comments:

A rather young cognac, around 2 years old. The youngest in the range, I believe, which explains its pale colour. The flavour is not as anaemic though, there's green fruit, jam, and some spice, with a chocolatey finish.

I got this sample before I went off younger cognacs, and it would have been a waste not to sample it. I was pleasantly surprised, however - there's a fair bit to this cognac, and certainly more than one layer, so to speak. I had to work reasonably hard to get down to the tropical fruit, it wasn't quite as obvious as, say, the green apples on the tongue. Maybe there's something to younger brandy after all.

Verdict:

I like this.

Barsol Quebranta Primero

Barsol Quebranta Primero

Brandy: Pisco
From: Ica
House: Barsol
Style:
Colour: Colourless
ABV: 41.3%

N: cornflakes, thyme, raisins, hay, dried orange peel.

M: Medium body, warm, slippery, loosens.

T: Salty. Cornflakes, fresh cut grass, fresh baked bread, green tomatoes, hay.

F: Short. Hay, dried orange peel, thyme, green apples.

Comments:

I've never had pisco outside a pisco sour. Perhaps that's the best place for it, but I'm not convinced - anyone who goes to the trouble of distilling a spirit must mean for at least some of it to be consumed neat. Pisco can't be aged in wood either, so this represents the pure skill of the distiller.

This one is not quite what I expected. I though neat pisco would be sweet and floral, but this is actually quite savoury and herbal. The sweet notes are present in cereally notes reminiscent of cornflakes, which quickly fade to grassy, herbal, umami notes.

I quite enjoyed this, I think neat pisco is a good addition to my set of brandy tasting notes. More to come, in the near future.

Verdict:

I like this.

Godet VSOP Original

Godet VSOP Original

Brandy: Cognac
From: Bois Ordinaires
House: Godet
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Amber
ABV: 40%

N: Honey, raisins, sugarcane, sandalwood, hints of sea salt.

M: Medium body, astringent, sticky, tingly.

T: Sweet. Peach jam, sugarcane, desiccated coconut, rose bonbons, hints of sandalwood.

F: Long. Raisins, peach jam, sugarcane, hints of sea salt.

Comments:

This is the first cognac I've had from this region, the Bois Ordinaires, apparently one of the lesser known, lower quality regions. The best cognacs purportedly come from Grande Champagne or Petite Champagne, and yes, those that I've tried are very good indeed. But as with whisky, I suspect brandies from lesser known regions have to be of higher quality in order to compete with those from more famous regions, and I wanted to test this theory.

I'm happy to report that this cognac does indeed support my theory. Of course there's no 'proof' as it were, and I think that you'd have to taste thousands of different cognacs before you could be sure there was substance to it, but this cognac is a data point in favour. It's sweet, but has definite complexity. According to the internet it's about 10 years old, and I taste rose bonbons, peach jam, and desiccated coconut. It's almost rum-like it its sweetness, it's pure sucrose, leavened with a pinch of salt.

Verdict:

I like this.

Louis Royer VS

Louis Royer VS

Brandy: Cognac
From: All
House: Louis Royer
Style: Blend
Colour: Amber
ABV: 40%

N: raisins, honey, blackcurrant cordial, orange blossom, hints of caramel.

M: Medium body, thickens, slippery, cool.

T: Sweet. Honey, orange blossom, sugarcane, raisins, hints of palm sugar.

F: Long. Sugarcane, caramel, orange blossom, vanilla,

Comments:

I'm not keen on additives to my spirit, or indeed on any messing around with it, except for wood. I prefer my whisky free of caramel (colour be damned), and ideally unchillfiltered. Although all the whisky distilleries insist that additives make no difference to taste, I believe that it does. In the same way, I prefer no sugar be added to my brandy, except perhaps for the very narrow exception of Metaxa, and certainly not in my cognac (although I'm not even sure if this is allowed - it probably isn't).

However, this cognac tastes quite sweet, in a slightly unalluring way. Sweet notes of sugarcane are the predominant flavour, although there is something floral underneath. There's caramel as well, something really quite strong. Perhaps my palate can't quite capture the nuances of this cognac yet, but I didn't really enjoy it - too sweet perhaps, and certainly not very interesting.

Verdict:

Not bad.

H by Hine VSOP

H by Hine VSOP

Brandy: Cognac
From: All
House: Hine
Style: Blend
Colour: Amber gold
ABV: 40%

N: cinnamon, cloves, apple blossom, lilies, peaches, merlot grapes.

M: Light body, cool, slightly astringent, loose.

T: Sweet. Peaches, apple blossom, fresh baked bread, honey, lilies, hints of cloves.

F: Short. Green tea, merlot grapes, orange peel, hints of raisins.

Comments:

An introductory expression from one of the four great cognac houses, one that I found very impressive. It's touted as one of the most floral of Hine's cognacs, and it's not just floral, it's spiced as well - heavily so. Lots of cinnamon and cloves, fruit and even the most intense note of lilies.

I must say, as far as introductory expressions go, this is extremely good. It's a mystery to me why some of the cheaper cognacs are lacklustre, after all they're meant to entice people to drink more cognac, and more expensive cognac to boot. If one is apathetic about the drink as a whole it's hardly going to make one buy more.

Anyway, here's to Hine and Frapin, two houses with extremely interesting introductory expressions. Yes, I will certainly concentrate on those in the future.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.