Cognac
Cognac is regarded to some as one of the world’s finest spirits. It carries categories such as VS (Very Special) and VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale) depending on how long it is barrel aged for.
Cognac is distilled from white wine grapes, only grown from the Cognac region in western France. Different regions have different soil characteristics which produce varying tastes. The typical style and character of cognac is oak, Christmas cake, toffee and marmalade. It brings about qualities such as intensity, warmth and complexity in the thousands of different styles and flavours from predominantly a single grape variety. Similar to Armagnac, the double-distillation takes place in copper stills or alembics, then aged in Limousin or Troncais oak barrels. The spirit is then cut with water to 40% abv.
