WORLD BEST COGNAC FOR 2017 GOES TO CROIZET EXTRA

Cognac Croizet Extra

Today the San Francisco Spirits Competition announced the winner of the 2017 world best cognac. For the first time Cognac Croizet receives this prestigious recognition. Congrats!

The Cognac Croizet Extra (about $230) received the highest score for the 'cognac' category but also for the overall brandy category which is very impressive.

Cognac Croizet has been recently noticed for its vintage and antique cognacs fetching high prices in wine & spirit auctions.

This prize marks a milestone in the many achievements recived by the brand since its establishment in 1805.

I also noticed a number of cognac brands which I had never heard before such as Blancrux, Honor, Marquis de La Fayette, Mery-Melrose and Voltaire.

Sources: SFSpiritscomp.com, Cognac Croizet

RESULTS OF THE 2014 WORLD BEST COGNAC FOR VSOP, XO & EXTRA ARE PUBLISHED: ROYER AND COMANDON WIN ALL

The World Spirits Competition in San Francisco is regarded as the No.1 spirits competition in the world. This competition is the most comprehensive international spirits judging conducted every year since 2000. Products are evaluated by top spirits professionals and are judged in a blind, consensual procedure ensuring integrity and making this annual competition the most followed competition in the spirits industry.

They only rate spirits and over 3,500 spirits are competing every year.

This year in 2014 for the first time the competition has recognized the best cognacs according to the 'classic cognac quality standards', that is VS, VSOP and XO, which is making the winners' list more interesting than before.

The winners are:

2014 WORLD BEST COGNAC  VSOP = LOUIS ROYER VSOP FORCE 53

Louis Royer Cognac VSOP Force 53

2014 WORLD BEST COGNAC XO = COMANDON XO

Comandon XO, 2014 World Best Cognac XO

2014 WORLD BEST COGNAC EXTRA = LOUIS ROYER EXTRA

Louis Royer Cognac VSOP Force 53

Source: www.sfspiritscomp.com

2014 BEST COGNAC IN THE WORLD IS LOUIS ROYER EXTRA

Louis Royer did it again!

Louis Royer won 2014 best cognac in the world spirits competition with their Extra Grande Champagne.

Cognac Louis Royer Extra Grande Champagne

It is impressive to win it once but twice in a row really, hats up to Louis Royer.

Interestingly, they won last year in 2013 with a very different cognac, the 53% alc/vol VSOP. These two cognacs could not be more different. Well, this proves quality is not a matter of aging but expression.

Cognac Louis Royer VSOP 53%

The detailed and official results will be published in a little bit more than 1 week. So this is a scoop and a big surprise, as it is always hard to predict which cognac will get more attention from the jury from one year to another.

This year for the first time the San Francisco World Spirits Competition will also award "Best XO", "Best VSOP", and "Best VS" cognacs. So keep in touch to find out the list of winners within the next 10 days.

Source: images: www.louis-royer.com

2013 RESULTS OF THE WORLD SPIRITS COMPETITION: BEST COGNAC FOR LOUIS-ROYER

2013 World Best Cognac, Louis-Royer VSOP Force 53

The San Francisco World Spirits Competition is regarded as the most respected spirits competition in the world. The Competition was the first comprehensive, international spirits judging ever held in the United States on an annual basis. Products are evaluated by top spirits professionals and are judged in a blind, consensual procedure ensuring competitive integrity and making this annual competition the most reputable and recognized competition in the spirits industry.

The 2014 Competition took place on March 20th through the 23rd at the Hotel Nikko in downtown San Francisco.

The 2013 Results were officially announced,  April 3, 2013, but they were not very clear so I had to delayed the announcement to confirm a few things:

Cognac VS or Equivalent

Double Gold Medal, Camus Cognac VS Elegance, www.camus.fr

Gold Medal, Bossard Cognac VS, www.bossardcognac.com

Gold Medal, Hennessy Cognac VS, www.hennessy.com

Silver Medal, Camus Ile De Ré Fine Island Cognac, www.camus.fr

Silver Medal, Comandon Cognac VS, www.comandon.com

Silver Medal, Courvoisier Cognac VS, www.courvoisier.com

Silver Medal, Landy Cognac VS, www.landycognac.com

Bronze Medal, Hennessy Black, www.hennessy.com

Cognac VSOP or Equivalent

BEST COGNAC,
Double Gold Medal, Louis-Royer Cognac Fine Champagne VSOP, Force 53, www.louis-royer.com

Gold Medal, Camus Cognac VSOP Borderies, www.camus.fr

Gold Medal, D'USSÉ Cognac VSOP, www.dusse.com

Gold Medal, Gautier Cognac VSOP, www.cognac-gautier.com

Silver Medal, Bossard Cognac VSOP,  www.bossardcognac.com

Silver Medal, Camus Cognac VSOP Elegance, www.camus.fr

Silver Medal, Camus Ile De Ré Fine Island Cognac, Double Matured, www.camus.fr

Silver Medal, Camus Ile De Ré Fine Island Cognac, Cliffside Cellar, www.camus.fr

Silver Medal, Cognac De Luze Fine Champagne VSOP, Grande & Petite Champagne, www.choose-delight.com

Silver Medal, Comandon Cognac VSOP, www.comandon.com

Silver Medal, Courvoisier Cognac VSOP, www.courvoisier.com

Silver Medal, Grand Breuil Cognac Elite, www.cognac-tessendier.com

Silver Medal, Landy Cognac VSOP, www.landycognac.com

Silver Medal, Louis Royer Cognac VSOP Preference, www.louis-royer.com

Silver Medal, Merlet Cognac Brothers Blend, www.merlet.fr

Cognac XO or Equivalent

Double Gold Medal, Gautier Cognac XO Pinar del Rio, www.cognac-gautier.com

Gold Medal, Campagnère Cognac Belle Epoque Borderies, www.cognac-tessendier.com

Gold Medal, Cognac De Luze Fine Champagne XO, Grande & Petite Champagne, www.choose-delight.com

Gold Medal, Courvoisier Cognac XO, www.courvoisier.com

Gold Medal, Gautier Cognac XO Gold & Blue, www.cognac-gautier.com

Gold Medal, Louis Royer Cognac XO, Force 53, www.louis-royer.com

Silver Medal, Camus Cognac XO Elegance, www.camus.fr

Silver Medal, Comandon Cognac XO, www.comandon.com

Silver Medal, Drouet & Fils Cognac XO Cuvée Ulysse, www.cognac-drouet.fr

Silver Medal, Landy Cognac XO, www.landycognac.com

Silver Medal, Leopold Raffin Cognac XO, www.rlaclie.com

Cognac Extra-Aged

Silver Medal, Louis Royer Cognac Extra Grande Champagne, Force 53, www.louis-royer.com

Thirty-four spirits experts convened at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco from March 21st through the 24th, 2013, for the 13th Annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The 2013 Competition had record entries, up 17% from last year. Distillers and importers submitted 1407 spirits from 63 countries into 85 different classifications. This year Suntory Ltd. from Tokyo, Japan, was awarded "The Tasting PanelMagazine Distillery of the Year", "Importer of the Year" was captured by Pernod Ricard USA, New York, NY, while the "Director's Award" was won by William Grant & Sons, New York.

Congratulations to Louis-Royer Cognac for winning the 2013 World Best Cognac for its VSOP!

Source Infos: SF World Spirits Competition

Source Photo: www.louis-royer.com

What are the Best Cognac Ratings or Competitions out there? Starting with the San Francisco World Spirits Competition

There is no real official and compelling cognac ratings or competitions out there. However, the World Spirits Competition in San Francisco attracts the largest number of cognac submissions.

This World Spirit Competition www.sfspiritscomp.com is carried out in San Francisco, it is not that old in comparison to many wine events. It was started in 2000 by Anthony Dias-Blue. Mr Blue is a highly recognized wine & spirits journalist who originally made his name as the wine and spirits editor of Bon Appétit, one of the largest food publication in the United States.

San Francisco World Spirits Competition Logo

He also broadcasts on radios, KFWB and KLSX FM in Los Angeles and on WCBS radio in New York.  He is co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Tasting Panel Magazine and is a frequent contributor to Decanter, Robb Report, Celebrated Living, Virtuoso Life, and C Magazine. Mr. Blue is the author of The Complete Book of Mixed Drinks and its companion, The Complete Book of Spirits. Interestingly, Mr Blue is the executive director of the New York World Wine and Spirits Competition, which is another representative competition that I am presenting below, but also the San Francisco World Wine Competition.

The World Spirits Competition in San Francisco rates about 1200 entrants annually from 60 countries on average (exactly 1215 in 2012 from 60 countries) with "blind" tastings involving panels of expert judges selected each year from the spirits industry including world-renowned mixologists, spirits buyers, and media from across the United States.

The +: the earlier in the year the better. Consumers prefer recent/this year winners than last year winners. WSC is in March and results are in April. this competition is seriously done, executed and rather representative. All spirits competitions are subjective. This is the best competition in my opinion.

The -: judges are not international judges for the most part and rather represent the experts in the USA. From my experience I can say that not all world experts are the same. It would be nice to see international experts in the panel to offer a more worldly view, mostly when the competition is called World Spirits etc ... Little appearance/representation in international trade events, for instance, Vinexpo, etc... They do appear in the Wine & Spirits Wholesaler of America trade show which is the equivalent of VINEXPO but for the USA only.