My most recent bottle of absolutely fabulous cognac is "AE Dor
No.8", a Grande Champagne cognac (which it appears you can also find
on Le-Cognac.com). I have just started in on my most recent bottle and I find
this cognac to be superlative. I would never buy this on my own - it was a gift
from my wife (and interestingly, it was cheaper than any online price I have
found) - but I am awfully glad she wanted to splurge for my Christmas
present...
For 'every day' cognac, while in Japan, I have found some interesting very
small producers sold through a liquor store in Mejiro (section of Tokyo near
Ikebukuro) - the same place which sells the AE Dor above, but among better
known names, I usually have a bottle of Frapin around. Chateau de Fontpinot
is a nice bottle I have found.
When in the US, I often buy cognac from the Ferrand line (which I think offers
excellent bang for buck), with my favorites being 'Selection des Anges' (I have
had one bottle of 'Ancestrale', given as a gift, and it was beautiful, but I am
not sure I can do that very often) and 'Brut de Fut.' 'Brut de Fut' means
'straight from the cask' (cognac is often drawn from the cask at 45-55% or so,
then bottled at ~40% (or so) by adding water) and is strong stuff but it also
has a very rich flavor to it - important to get the temperature up a bit to get
all the aromas. More interestingly, being completely non-blended, every
bottle ends up a little bit different, while retaining the layers, complexity,
honey-spice richness of the aged Ferrand cognacs.
No.8", a Grande Champagne cognac (which it appears you can also find
on Le-Cognac.com). I have just started in on my most recent bottle and I find
this cognac to be superlative. I would never buy this on my own - it was a gift
from my wife (and interestingly, it was cheaper than any online price I have
found) - but I am awfully glad she wanted to splurge for my Christmas
present...
For 'every day' cognac, while in Japan, I have found some interesting very
small producers sold through a liquor store in Mejiro (section of Tokyo near
Ikebukuro) - the same place which sells the AE Dor above, but among better
known names, I usually have a bottle of Frapin around. Chateau de Fontpinot
is a nice bottle I have found.
When in the US, I often buy cognac from the Ferrand line (which I think offers
excellent bang for buck), with my favorites being 'Selection des Anges' (I have
had one bottle of 'Ancestrale', given as a gift, and it was beautiful, but I am
not sure I can do that very often) and 'Brut de Fut.' 'Brut de Fut' means
'straight from the cask' (cognac is often drawn from the cask at 45-55% or so,
then bottled at ~40% (or so) by adding water) and is strong stuff but it also
has a very rich flavor to it - important to get the temperature up a bit to get
all the aromas. More interestingly, being completely non-blended, every
bottle ends up a little bit different, while retaining the layers, complexity,
honey-spice richness of the aged Ferrand cognacs.