Chateau du Breuil, Calvados VSOP & Cognac Park Cognac VS, 40%

I do like miniatures.

The opportunity to explore new categories of spirits with contrasting styles at reasonable prices.

Doing an WSET L2 in Spirits course a while ago widened my horizons to the tasty delights of Brandy – under which Calvados & Cognac both reside.

Calvados – made from apples – & Cognac – from grapes – adhere to French rules & regulations relating to how, where & what they are distilled from.

Picking these up in the Celtic Whiskey Shop allows me to compare the two differing spirits.

Chateau du Breuil, Calvados VSOP, 40%

Quite a distinctive bottle on this one!

Exhibits a shade lighter pale brown than the cognac. Fresh, fruity dry cider nose with caramelly undertones. Clean & crisp on the palate. The barrel ageing is evident with some tannic spiciness & a decent warmth.

A pleasantly refreshing little number.

Cognac Park, Cognac VS, 40%

Presented in an elegant elongate bottle.

A deeper, richer caramelly nose presents itself. The palate has a rounder feel, redolent with fruity warmth flowing into a surprising tangy, lip-smacking spicy finish.

Nice

Thoughts

I like the cidery start to the Calvados – & the spicy finish of the Cognac.

Both of these brandies show the diversity of the category.

It’s a category I enjoy exploring.

Sláinte

Distiller article on Calvados here.

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Courvoisier VSOP Cognac, 40% vs Sainsbury’s Napoleon Brandy VSOP, 36%

This bottle cost £5.

This one £6.25.

Which one to purchase exercises many a customer.

Do you go for the big brand Cognac?

Or the lottery of a supermarket own label Brandy?

Being a blogger I purchased both – with the express intention of doing a back-to-back taste comparison.

Honouring accepted practice I started with the lowest ABV first.

Sainsbury’s Napoleon Brandy VSOP, 36%

Now it doesn’t state Sainsbury’s on the front of the rather plain label – but it’s clearly displayed on the rear.

There’s a confusing trio of terms giving mixed messages.

‘Napoleon’ denotes aged in oak & ‘Aged 3 Years’ is the youngest of the blending components – but ‘VSOP’ suggests 4 years in Cognac terms. Perhaps it doesn’t mean the same for Brandy?

Presented in a plastic bottle at 36% & labelled as Brandy clearly reduces the costs – but does it impact on the flavour?

Golden brown in colour. Soft nose of gentle sweet dark plums follows through into a mild – yet rich & warming – palate. Develops a slightly prickly finish fading slowly away.

An attractive easy going brandy with a touch of flair on the rear.

Courvoisier VSOP Cognac, 40%

Courvoisier pours an identical colour to Napoleon. The nose is rather shy too – but lifted by hints of woodiness. A similar mild palate grows with tannic spiciness on the rear.

The woody oakiness lifts this Cognac’s appeal.

Thoughts

For such a large price difference I was expecting a lot more from Courvoisier.

What I experienced were 2 very similarly tasting brandies with only the extra ageing giving an oaky lift to the cognac.

Given Sainsbury’s lists the 70cl bottles at £11.50 for Napoleon & £38 for Courvoisier – I’d rather spend my money exploring other brandy varieties before choosing the big brand again.

Sláinte

Prices listed March 2023 on Sainsbury’s webpage here.

Courvoisier website here.

Is Black Fungus The New Threat For Whiskey?

At first glance it would appear so!

World famous Jack Daniel’s recently faced a set back due to the unsightly fungus.

As reported by BBC.com

Distilleries round the globe have also experienced court cases focused on fungus – which clearly adds delays & inevitably cost to the industry, ultimately being passed on to the consumer.

As reported in the Scotsman

So what is black fungus?

In the wonderful world of nature wherever there is a food source there will be an organism to take advantage of it.

The food source here is ethanol vapour.

Black fungus is the organism – or to give it a scientific name – Baudoinia compniacenis.

Originally identified back in the 1870’s inhabiting surfaces around Cognac Distilleries in France – It has now spread globally.

Research on it has been minimal – but will obviously ramp up in gear now financial implications are in play.

Modern papers on the fungus now show there are sub-species that feed on differing spirits. A case of whiskey fungus, cognac fungus, tequila fungus perhaps? And yet another example of the diversity of nature to exploit niche habitats.

Not only that. Species of micro moths which eat fungus have been found clustered around distilleries too!

Solutions to the problem are being sought.

The simplest is a cordon of trees around the facility to capture the black fungus before it escapes into the wider environment – & no, the trees aren’t hurt. This was proposed at the Moyvore Maturation site consultation meeting I attended back in 2017.

Maybe higher tech devices such as vapour recovery or spray suppressants are being investigated for more space restricted sites.

Whatever the outcome – it must be stated the brandy industry suffered a collapse due to a tiny organism – who remembers Phylloxera?

Image courtesy Irish Times here.

Having an interest in both whiskey and nature, it’s clear the Angel’s Share so venerated by the whiskey industry has a dirty secret!

Science paper on Black Fungus here.

My blog on Moyvore here.

Blog on differing species of black fungus here.

Phylloxera article here.

Cognac Park Borderies, 10 Year Old Mizunara Cask, Single Cru Cognac, 44%

Mizunara – or Japanese Oak – is all the rage right now.

A growing number of whiskey companies are choosing to finish their precious liquid in this exotic, rare & difficult to work with wood.

Why?

To extract some of the fabulous flavours from the wood & enhance the drinking experience.

Other spirits categories are likely to follow & on spotting this Cognac Park Mizunara Cask – I had to try it!

Golden brown in colour, there’s subtle aromas of light sandalwood contrasting with the dark fruitiness expected from an aged cognac.

The light & fresh appeal carries through on tasting – definitely an alternative experience to some heavier cognacs.

The finish excites with a prickly heat, tannic spiciness & sweet fruits.

An impressive & welcome innovative experiment into Mizunara finishing in the cognac world.

Sláinte

For further reading on Mizunara see webpage here.

Cognac Park website here.

In Praise of Miniatures

Up in Dublin to meet friends & family was a different style of trip to my Poitín Now adventures of last weekend.

I did however manage a quick visit to the Celtic Whiskey Shop to replenish my miniatures.

I do love miniatures.

When you have shelves groaning with around 50 opened bottles of varying spirits – not to mention a similar number waiting to be uncorked – constantly buying more is no longer an option.

There’s also the squeeze on spending by having to fork out increasing amounts for basics – let alone the luxury of drink – so miniatures it is!

There were 3 untried expressions that made my basket.

Nardini Grappa Riserva – to further explore my Grappa fascination.

Cognac Park 10yo Mizunara Cask – Mizunara seems to be all the rage right now – so why can’t Cognac get in on the act?

and

Fercullen Falls Whiskey – Powerscourt’s latest core release blend.

Expect a monologue on each in due course!

Sláinte

All images authors own.

Celtic Whiskey Shop website here.

Hennessy VS Cognac x Julien Colombier, 40%

Raiding the drinks cabinet at a friend’s house can sometimes uncover the unexpected – like this Hennessy x Julien Colombier Cognac.

Not sporting the usual golden label did make me wonder if the contents were different – so I poured a glass!

Dark, woody aromas greeted me.

A smooth, easy palate gave a warming embrace.

I enjoyed the lovely turn of tannic spice towards the finish.

A very easy & attractive cognac with suitable depth & complexity to sip & enjoy.

Turns out Hennessy have commissioned a number of limited-edition artworks to grace their famous brand. Paris based Julien Colombier’s happens to be the one I had the good fortune to encounter.

Hennessy’s art of distilling, maturing & blending the cognac reassuringly stays the same.

Sláinte

Hennessy webpage here.

Martell VS, Cognac, 40%

Martell Cognac is available in virtually every Irish supermarket.

Not too surprising – Pernod Ricard own the brand.

I picked up this miniature to give it a whirl.

The nose was quite expressive, rich, warm & inviting with a touch of nuttiness.

The nuttiness followed through on the palate which was pleasingly smooth yet offered some depth & fruity complexity.

A welcome soft tannic spice livened up the finish.

Before the phylloxera bug nearly destroyed the vineyards of the late 1800’s Cognac was the spirit of choice.

I can see why after enjoying the flavoursome delights of this Martell VS.

Worth trying.

All images authors own.