Showing posts with label Philbert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philbert. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

NEW IDEAS IN COGNAC FROM LESSER KNOWN BRANDS

Cognac Abecassis, Bourgoin Cognac, Comandon Cognac, Cognac Marancheville, Cognac Philbert, and Cognac Pierre Ferrand.
What do these brands of cognac have in common?
Making cognac ... that is true!

But mostly bringing forward a wind of innovation in the cognac scene with different propositions perhaps with some "Trendy Exceptions". Here are a few examples from other brands than the big 4 brands of cognac.

===> Cognac Abecassis have not been the first putting forward the concept of Single Estate cognac. Other cognac Brands such as Cognac Menuet had used this concept a long time before. But Abecassis has contributed to growing the idea of Single Estate spirit concept in the world of cognac. Other more recent innovation includes making a liqueur from cognac and honey with ABK6 Honey, 87% of cognac and 13% of honey from chestnut trees sourced from the local region of Cognac.

Abk6 Honey Liqueur
Abk6 Honey Liqueur

===> Bourgoin Cognac is a rather large cognac supplier to the trade whose decided recently to offer cognacs aged in 50 liters casks and in small 325ml bottles, sort of micro-cognac distilling.
Cognac Bourgoin
Cognac Bourgoin

===> Comandon Cognac is the pioneer of Single Batch and Single cask cognac, and a rather exclusive cognac independent bottler. A Single Batch cognac is a cognac that is a one-off cognac, where the cognac is not repeated and made the same evrytime but rather individualized unique batch. Single Cask cognac is a cognac which is made from one cask: for the most part these single casks will be vintages, with one specific region of Cognac.

In conclusion, a rather authentic crafted cognac with singular and unique characteristics. Here again these 2 concepts are both by definition one-off cognac lots which cannot be repeated.

Comandon Cognac Single Cask, Vintage 2012, Grande Champagne Cask #22
Comandon Cognac Single Cask, Vintage 2012, Grande Champagne Cask #22

===> Cognac marancheville which consists in offering limited edition cognacs sort of like Cognac Grosperrin from a dedicated cellar.
Cognac Marancheville VSOP
Cognac Marancheville VSOP

===> Cognac Philbert's vision is sort mirroring the crafted scotch whisky with a rather 'single malt' type of philosophy. This is an intriguing new adventure for the two brothers in charge of the 208 years old family estate. They produce a single estate cognac through the classic line of VS, VSOP and XO, and vary the line depending on whether the products are made in their distillery in Grande Champagne versus their distillery in Petite Champagne. 

Each distillery has a unique style and terroir,  and it is attended by one of the two brothers in charge of the production: Xavier Precigout in Petite Champagne and Pierre-Olivier Precigout in Grande Champagne. They offer cognacs for the fanatic of authenticity. In addition, they were the first ever to offer vintage rare cask finish cognacs with a selection of cognacs finished either in Sauternes casks or Sherry Xeres casks for both the variations from Grande and Petite Champagne.

Cognac Philbert 2012 Grande Champagne, Sherry Cask Finish, Winner of 2016 World Best Cognac San Francisco
Cognac Philbert 2012 Grande Champagne, Sherry Cask Finish, Winner of 2016 World Best Cognac San Francisco

===> Cognac Pierre Ferrand is very innovative with a cognac selection away from the standard VS, VSOP ... denominations but rather using specific model ranges such as 1840 or Amber, and recently starting a cask finish re-using Sauternes casks.
Cognac Pierre Ferrand Barrel Sauternes
Cognac Pierre Ferrand Barrel Sauternes

Cognac is stereotyped as being always the same but this is not true!

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

2016 WINNERS FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO WORLD SPIRITS COMPETITION

The San Francisco World Spirits Competition, one of the largest and most prestigious international spirit competition, has announced the 2016 medal and award recipients from its 16th annual competition, held March 17th through 20th at Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. Out of this year's record-breaking 1,899 entries, only 201 were awarded Double Gold medals by 39 judges.

2016 BEST COGNAC VS
Winning Double Gold Medal
Cognac Philbert Vintage Grande Champagne Rare Cask Finish Sherry Cognac
Cognac Philbert 2012 Grande Champagne finished in Oloroso Sherry Cask
Cognac Philbert 2012 Grande Champagne finished in Oloroso Sherry Cask


2016 BEST COGNAC VSOP
Winning Double Gold Medal
A. De Fussigny Petite Champagne Cognac VSOP
Cognac A. de Fussigny VSOP
Cognac A. de Fussigny VSOP

2016 BEST COGNAC Toute Categorie
et BEST COGNAC XO
Winning Double Gold Medal
Gautier Pinar del Rio Cognac XO
Cognac Gautier Pinar del Rio
Cognac Gautier Pinar del Rio

2016 BEST COGNAC EXTRA
Winning Double Gold Medal
Bache-Gabrielsen Sérénité Extra Cognac
Cognac Gabrielsen Serenite Extra
Cognac Gabrielsen Serenite Extra

There were many other prestigious brands of cognac represented this year including:
. Martell, winning a Silver Medal for its XO cognac.
. Comandon, winning a Gold Medal for its XO cognac.
. Louis Royer, winning a Silver Medal for its XO cognac.
. Merlet, winning a Silver Medal for its XO cognac.

Founded in 2000, the San Francisco World Spirits Competitionhas become an important event jumped from 292 entries in 2000 from close to 2000 entries in 2016.

Products are evaluated in a blind, consensual procedure ensuring the SFWSC maintains its reputation for the highest level of integrity.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

MASS-PRODUCED SPIRITS VERSUS SINGLE ESTATE SPIRITS

Now consumers are increasingly questioning the origins of the ingredients found in mass-produced spirits and are looking at more craft spirits, in hope of finding more accountability and more sustainable solutions. Hence, "Demand for all things 'craft' and local has stretched beyond beer into spirits" says The Guardian.

While not officially defined by the industry, single-estate spirits - also known as "farm to bottle" spirits - are generally understood to be products created using most, if not all, ingredients sourced from a single area of land. The brands producing such spirits are unique in their decision not to use neutral grain spirit (NGS) to bump up volume - a regular occurrence at both large and small distilleries.

Single estate spirits, on the other hand, conduct almost all stages of production on site, including growing, fermenting, malting, distilling, maturing, bottling and labeling.

Typical brands of Single Estate Spirits include:

These brands represent an emerging category that focuses on provenance, a concept traditionally associated with wine.

Source: The Guardian