Apart from beer and whisky, both of which you may have read reviews of on the site before, I’m also a fan of Cognac, and as such I felt it was time to write a wee review of one here on the blog. When choosing which Cognac should go first, there really was no choice – when most people think ‘Cognac’ it is hastily followed by ‘Remy Martin’, and hence I shall begin by taking a look at their standard bottling, the V.S.O.P.

Nearly every bar and pub in the known universe will stock this on their shelves, and I suppose that’s one of the things that makes it so darn good. It offers familiarity. As if that weren’t enough, though, it’s rather cheap, too! That said, I was at my local pool club the other day and spotted it behind the bar. When I ordered one the barman look confused, and I had to repeat my order and point to the bottle. He went over to grab it, looked at it with a look of complete confusion, and mumbled something about finding an opener before disappearing and returning with a more experienced barman. As it turns out, he’d thought he needed a wine opener! It was clear that they don’t sell much of the stuff, in fact I’ve confirmed that by returning once a week for a regular game and ordering the same drink, each time the bottle is just as full as it had been the previous week.

So really, they shouldn’t stock it – it doesn’t sell well enough – but there appears to be an unwritten law whereby every bar must stock it, and thank Christ for that as it is the only drinkable spirit they have on offer!

To the point! While the Remy Martin V.S.O.P is by no means the best Cognac around it is rather good, and it offers great value for money. A bottle will set you back about £30-35 in the UK, and I believe anywhere between $40-50 in the US, a glass at the above mentioned pool club is £2.45 – bargain! The nose carries delightful warmth with hints of dried fruits, leather, spice, vanilla and some oak and it definitely won’t bore you in the slightest. The palate is largely similar but perhaps more intense, it packs a bit of an initial kick but quickly settles down and lets you enjoy it in full. Not at all a shy drink, but not too aggressive either, with some but far from overwhelming alcohol taste.

Colour: Bourbon-esque.

Nose: Warm, dried fruits (apples, figs, peach), vanilla, leather and oak. Delightful.

Taste: Much the same as the nose, perhaps a bit more aromatic.

While it may be a bit of a boring choice to have in your cupboard as it’s very common – it is common for good reasons. I always have one on the go.

Want to buy this cognac? Available in: UK & Europe (click), USA & World (click)

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