Christian Drouin VSOP

 Christian Drouin VSOP

Brandy: Calvados

From: Pays d’Auge

Style: Single distillery

House: Christian Drouin

Colour: Yellow gold

ABV: 40%

N: malted grains, black pepper, apples, honey, hints of banana.

M: heavy body, thickens, slippery, slightly tingly. 

T: bitter sweet. Apples, black pepper, vanilla, barley rusk, hints of fresh baked bread, hints of banana  

F: short. Vanilla, banana, pears, fresh baked bread. 

Comments:

Quite a complex calvados, with cereally notes, some spice and some quite un-calvados like bananas. Quite enjoyable, there’s some aged spirit in this if I’m any judge (of course, there’s a chance that I’m not). 

Verdict:

I like this. 

Frapin VSOP

Frapin VSOP

Brandy: Cognac

From: Grande Champagne

Style: Blend

House: Frapin

Colour: Amber

ABV: 40%

N: prunes, raisins, cinnamon, honey, hints of red grapes. 

M: medium body, cool, slippery, loosens

T: Sweet. Menthol, blackcurrant cordial, honey, cinnamon, red grapes, hints of rolled oats. 

F: Medium. Menthol, blackcurrant cordial, fresh baked bread, cinnamon. 

Comments:

A blended Frapin, but one that displays the same grapey, fruity flavours as the XO I had recently. Hopefully this is the house character. I’m very keen to try more expressions from this house. 

Are there house characters in cognac, just as there are distillery characters with whisky? I don’t know for sure but there seems to be a house style for some brandies. There are relatively few independent expressions of course, so the houses can blend distillate to create a certain style without indies coming in and mucking up their branding. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Uno et Mil Solera Gran Reserva

Uno et Mil Solera Gran Reserva

Brandy: Brandy de Jerez
From: Jerez
Style: Single distillery
House: Sanchez Romate
Colour: Amber
ABV: 40%

N: Raisins, vanilla, honey, coffee, walnuts, hints of dark chocolate.

M: light body, loose, warm, astringent.

T: Bitter. Honey, dark chocolate, date honey, coffee, hints of iron filings.

F: medium. Honey, dark chocolate, coffee, black tea, hints of orange peel.

Comments:

“One in a million”, this is Sanchez Romate’s entry-level expression of Jerez brandy. It’s lighter than the older expressions, with just a little hint of rancio, presenting as a slightly metallic note on the tongue. It’s quite complex, lots of bittersweet notes, lots of fragrant, almost herbal flavours. 

A solera aging tends to produce this style in whisky, that is, a blend of ‘older’ flavour notes - like rancio and tobacco - as well as ‘younger’ flavour notes - like fruit and nuts. I do enjoy it when I can find it, but it’s relatively rare, for both whisky and brandy. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot.