Armagnac and Cognac, buy now.

[Andrew_K]

Nobody ships liquor out of state I think?

[MChang]

Nobody ships liquor out of state I think?

Certainly some shops do.

[Craig_G]

I have been stocking up on laberdolive lately.

Michael’s bunker:

[Otto_Dobre]

That is the one Michael, and thanks for the advice.

Order placed for 2 bottles.

I think you will really like it. Normandin mercier is my favorite brandy producer. They have an uncanny ability to make spirits that are complex and beautiful and aged for extended periods of time without being oaky. I don’t understand how really. The tres vielle is 100+ years in wood but not overly woody. The cognac you bought was aged in barrels from trees cut from their estate.

I got the last 2 bottles from Premiers Grand Crus n France. Shipping was reasonable. May go for the tres vielle once I get these two.

[Jay_Miller]

I have no idea about cognac since I’m more of an Armagnac person.

I think the difference 25 years ago for Armagnac is that there were fewer places where you could get high end bottles but the ones that did (mostly D&M) had a huge selection which seemed like it would never run out.

Jay - Did you ever go to Gasgogne in Chelsea where they had dozens of bottles of Darroze and would put on the Armagnac Show if you ordered one? Bring out the whole tray, put a dab on your pulse points, warm the snifter swirling it between the hands…There always seemed to be an incredibly attractive young man doing that part, which was not surprising (or objectionable!) in Chelsea.

I lived around the corner in 1994-5 and would go often with my girlfriend at the time and that’s where I first learned about Armagnac.

Yes! That’s also where I first tried vintage Armagnac.

I went with a friend visiting from Colorado once and he got the attractive guy’s phone number.

[MChang]

That is the one Michael, and thanks for the advice.

Order placed for 2 bottles.

I think you will really like it. Normandin mercier is my favorite brandy producer. They have an uncanny ability to make spirits that are complex and beautiful and aged for extended periods of time without being oaky. I don’t understand how really. The tres vielle is 100+ years in wood but not overly woody. The cognac you bought was aged in barrels from trees cut from their estate.

I got the last 2 bottles from Premiers Grand Crus n France. Shipping was reasonable. May go for the tres vielle once I get these two.

Fine drams may have better pricing in some cases.

[JulianD]

From pasquet:

Couple more premium offerings.

Through The Grapevine "Jean-Luc Pasquet Cask 95" Single Barrel Cask Strength Grande Champagne Cognac(750ml) - SKU 1568475

Is this Pasquet from a indie bottler? How is it different from their normal bottlings?

[MChang]

From pasquet:

Couple more premium offerings.

Through The Grapevine "Jean-Luc Pasquet Cask 95" Single Barrel Cask Strength Grande Champagne Cognac(750ml) - SKU 1568475

Is this Pasquet from a indie bottler? How is it different from their normal bottlings?

Yeah it’s a through the grapevine bottling

[Curtis_Chen]

I have been stocking up on laberdolive lately.

Gonna be interesting to track Laberdolive if/when WK gets his Armagnac coverage going.

[MChang]

I have been stocking up on laberdolive lately.

Gonna be interesting to track Laberdolive if/when WK gets his Armagnac coverage going.

Yeah I mean, it’s one of the rare products that’s by the far the best in its category; like Yquem, but low production. I imagine prices will eventually skyrocket.

[Br1an_Th0rne]

Just received my first order from Fine Drams; pretty much a flawless transaction. Ordered 11 February and arrived today, so three weeks total.

Normandin-Mercier XO Grande Champagne Cognac
Normandin-Mercier Millésime 2011 Petite Champagne Cognac
Normandin-Mercier Lot 80 Grande Champagne Cognac (Cask #3711)

Am enjoying the XO at the moment; the depth and complexity is off the charts. 30 year old cognac at $110; no discernible wood in the flavor profile, very smooth and a long finish.

[MChang]

Just received my first order from Fine Drams; pretty much a flawless transaction. Ordered 11 February and arrived today, so three weeks total.

Normandin-Mercier XO Grande Champagne Cognac
Normandin-Mercier Millésime 2011 Petite Champagne Cognac
Normandin-Mercier Lot 80 Grande Champagne Cognac (Cask #3711)

Am enjoying the XO at the moment; the depth and complexity is off the charts. 30 year old cognac at $110; no discernible wood in the flavor profile, very smooth and a long finish.

Excellent selections. I think the XO is a superb value at the ~100 price point. It’s fascinating that there’s no wood considering how long they’re aged in barrel.

[Otto_Dobre]

Got my 2 bottles of Normandin Mercier from France on Saturday. About 10 days. Waiting on a bottle of Navarre Vieille Reserve.

[MChang]

Got my 2 bottles of Normandin Mercier from France on Saturday. About 10 days. Waiting on a bottle of Navarre Vieille Reserve.

That’s a really nice bottle as well.

[MChang]

There’s a few nice bottles of grosperrin on fine drams.

[JulianD]

How are Pellehaut and Ravignan generally viewed? I see some vintages on K&L right now for pretty solid prices

[MChang]

How are Pellehaut and Ravignan generally viewed? I see some vintages on K&L right now for pretty solid prices

They’re not bad, not as good as some of the best producers but certainly not terrible.

[MChang]

Btw some good brandy resources are:

Brandy advocate website which was created by Jason Wilson.

The smoke and the smell, by Thad vogler (book)

Serious brandy discussion group on Facebook

[Dav3_Dyr0ff]

I do appreciate all the recs in this and the other (“bourbon lovers buy this”) thread. In the price range I live in, I’ve been enjoying the Laubade XO and the 1992 and 1999 Jouandas I was already on to, but I’ve now added some sale-priced L’Encantada XO and Dartanilongue XO to that mix, and I even went deep and picked up one bottle of Laberdolive from each of my kids’ birth-year vintages except the youngest (waiting for that one to be released), plus a bottle of the so-highly-praised 1986, all to sip occasionally on special occasions over the years (plus a bottle of the 1991 as a retirement gift for a very close friend and colleague who started with the firm, alongside me, in 1991).

So you’ve all be great for my palate and terrible for my bank account, but I’m taking a long buying pause now…

[MChang]

I do appreciate all the recs in this and the other (“bourbon lovers buy this”) thread. In the price range I live in, I’ve been enjoying the Laubade XO and the 1992 and 1999 Jouandas I was already on to, but I’ve now added some sale-priced L’Encantada XO and Dartanilongue XO to that mix, and I even went deep and picked up one bottle of Laberdolive from each of my kids’ birth-year vintages except the youngest (waiting for that one to be released), plus a bottle of the so-highly-praised 1986, all to sip occasionally on special occasions over the years (plus a bottle of the 1991 as a retirement gift for a very close friend and colleague who started with the firm, alongside me, in 1991).

So you’ve all be great for my palate and terrible for my bank account, but I’m taking a long buying pause now…

What have been your favorites of the new purchases so far?