Tag: VS

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Voyer VS Cognac Review

François Voyer VS Cognac.
François Voyer VS Cognac. Click here for tasting notes.

François Voyer VS Cognac

Cellar master Pierre Vaudon took over the Voyer Cognac house from the founding family after working on its blends for many years, and now owns it with his wife Anne-Marie.

François Voyer is in Verrières, right in Grande Champagne, the premier cru of Cognac. The family’s viticultural roots there go back roughly 200 years, while actual distillation by the Chauchet-Voyer family is generally dated to the 1870s. Paul André was among the relatively unusual growers of the late 19th century who distilled his own wine rather than simply selling it to a négociant. So, Voyer was able to amass stocks of its own mature eaux-de-vie rather than functioning primarily as a brand buying young spirits and assembling them.

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Pasquinet VS Cognac Review

Pasquinet VS Cognac.
Pasquinet VS Cognac. Click here for tasting notes.

Pasquinet VS

Pasquinet is a family-rooted Grande Champagne producer/distiller based at Domaine du Foucaudat in Juillac-le-Coq, with estate vineyards, its own distilling tradition, old stocks, and a history stretching back well before the Pasquinet brand itself was created. The primary terroir is Grande Champagne, Cognac’s premier cru, with an estate size of about 22 hectares (54 acres). Continue reading “Pasquinet VS Cognac Review”

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Tycoon VS Cognac Review

Tycoon VS Cognac. Click here for tasting notes.

Celebrity-backed brandy and Cognac is a notable and growing trend, heavily propelled by hip-hop culture and high-profile music and sports partnerships. High-visibility labels like Jay-Z’s D’USSÉ and 50 Cent’s Branson Cognac have proven that celebrity ownership can turn niche or traditional French spirits into major market contenders. Tycoon VS is just such a celebrity Cognac, this one involving Earl “E-40” Stevens, a longtime California rapper, record-label owner, and entrepreneur. The spirit is produced in the Cognac region of France, of course. But I cannot find reliable evidence identifying the actual distiller/négociant supplying the eaux-de-vie. Tycoon doesn’t identify the Cognac house behind the liquid, or really any other details.

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Couvignac VS Cognac Review

Couvignac VS Cognac.
Couvignac VS Cognac. Click here for tasting notes.

Couvignac VS is produced by Distillerie de Chevanceaux/SVE (Société des Vins et Eaux-de-Vie), a long-established family distillery in Saint-Palais-de-Négrignac. It is a substantial, multigenerational, family-owned Cognac distiller, grower, blender, cellar operator, and spirits producer whose roots lie in supplying and producing eaux-de-vie rather than building an internationally famous Cognac house name. The Cognac distillery at the present site was founded in 1896 by Louis Gautriaud, formerly a bouilleur de cru—essentially a grower-distiller. His son Ernest took over after 1926, followed by grandson Robert after 1956. The company’s own modern family history traces the family’s involvement in growing, distilling, aging, and blending Cognac back further, to 1830. Julien Nau and his sister Marie represent the latest generation of the family. Continue reading “Couvignac VS Cognac Review”

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Monnet VS Cognac Review

Monnet VS Cognac.
Monnet VS Cognac. Click here for tasting notes.

Monnet VS Cognac

Maison Monnet is one of those Cognac houses that is much better known in Europe than in the United States. It has a legitimate historical pedigree, an unusually interesting connection to European history, and a recognizable house style built around fruit, flowers, warmth, and softness rather than aggressive oak. Monnet itself describes this as its “sunny” style.

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Bache Gabrielsen VS Review

Bache Gabrielsen VS Tre Kors Cognac.
Bache Gabrielsen VS Tre Kors Cognac. Click here for tasting notes.

Bache Gabrielsen VS is a particularly interesting Cognac because there’s a genuine story behind the name, and the Cognac itself is more characterful than I’d expect from a basic VS [Very Special].

Bache Gabrielsen is unusual among Cognac houses because its roots are Norwegian rather than French. Thomas Bache-Gabrielsen came to Cognac from Norway in 1903, at about age 20, initially to develop his family’s wine-and-spirits business. He met his future wife Odette, the daughter of local winegrowers, and decided to remain in France. In 1905, Thomas and fellow Norwegian Peter Rustad bought the existing Cognac house A. Edmond Dupuy, which dated to 1852. That became Maison Bache Gabrielsen. (The origin story of Bache Gabrielsen is curiously similar to that of the Cognac house founded by Jens Reidar Larsen.)

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Gran Gala VS Cognac Review

Gran Gala VS Cognac.
Gran Gala VS Cognac. Click here for tasting notes.

Is Gran Gala VS Cognac one of the best bargains in French brandy? Maybe. Maybe not.

When most spirits enthusiasts hear the name Gran Gala, they immediately think of the popular Italian orange liqueur often compared to Grand Marnier. What many drinkers don’t realize is that Gran Gala also produces an authentic French Cognac—a surprisingly affordable bottle. At a time when many well-known Cognac brands command prices of $40, $50, or significantly more for their entry-level offerings, Gran Gala VS often sells for less than $25. That price alone makes it worthy of a closer look.

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