Cognac Archives - First Pour Cocktails

H by Hine VSOP Cognac

Posted on February 17, 2023February 1, 2023 by Nick

Hine provides one of the most over the top descriptions for H by Hine I’ve seen in nearly 15 years of writing about wine and liquor:

H by Hine is whimsical. If it were a young man, it would have the keen eye of Dick Diver in Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night. Adventurous, lively and elegant, it is the ideal sidekick for daring cocktails and a flamboyant soloist when served neat with a dash of cold tonic. Expressive yet discreet, its notes of iris, fresh apricot, acacia and white pepper chime with its sprightly and joyful demeanour. Feels like Coachella in a bottle.

That’s a heck of billing to live up to, and we’ve already established our like of Lustau’s Brandy de Jerez as a budget offering and Pierre Ferrand’s 1840 as an entry cognac. So does it live up to it’s Coachella’s billing?

H by Hine VSOP Cognac

Sight: Chestnut Oloroso Sherry

Smell: There’s a slight heat to the nose that gives way to juicy, fermenting grapes. A raisin like sweetness laced with dates and figs comes to the forefront. It wraps in caramel and a bit of white pepper. Slight dried cranberry and fresh bright berries join in.

Sip: The body has a solid weight with a good amount of fig and caramel. The grape notes persist with a bit of raisining. There’s a rather consistent flavor throughout with a bit of oak. The slight oak gives a little white pepper, vanilla, and touch of ginger.

Savor: The ending carries forward the touches of spiced ginger and pepper with a nice hint of vanilla and pepper!

H by Hine VSOP is well balanced and gives off solid flavors of caramel, raisin, and fresh fig. As an easy sipper, it works nice as cognac, giving off the flavor profile you’d expect without paying a fortune for it. The subtleness is nice, and inviting, without being too soft to enjoy.

In Cocktails

In a Sidecar, vanilla and raisin come forward with a touch of oak before giving way to bright lemon and sweet orange. The vanilla and body are smooth and give a silkiness. There’s an interesting almost leather or cigar box note as well. Other stone fruit starts to emerge with dried apricot and peach preserves. There’s also something nice about the brightness and sweetness, which is well controlled by H by Hine VSOP and balances the drink.

In Review – H by Hine VSOP Cognac

H by Hine VSOP Cognac is well balanced and has all the right notes for cognac. While it isn’t the most exciting cognac, it also delivers all the flavors you’d expect at a very reasonable price point. As it works as both a sipper and a cocktail cognac, this is an easy recommendation around $40 for your home bar. Definitely check it out if you’re looking for something well made.

Martell VSOP

Posted on July 22, 2022July 19, 2022 by Nick

I may have mentioned in the past that I am not particularly fast at going through the back log of bottles we’ve collect. As a result, there are occasional packaging flow throughs and changes that make identifying what a particular bottle is a challenge. This is part of what happened with this particular bottle of Martell VSOP (Matured In Red Barrels).

Martell VSOP

Martell VSOP (Matured In Red Barrels) was an effort in Martell’s branding to help address the stodgy image of cognac. By emphasizing the “red barrels” the focus would be adjusted to target the fruity flavors within the cognac. The aging process is done in “red barrels” of fine-grained oak that reduce the exchange rate (compared to larger grain). According to their website, it is also aged at least 4 years for VSOP.

Sight: A pretty reddish amber

Smell: There’s a notable heat here coming off the start that gives way to flowers, touches of lychee, and plenty of fresh apricot. Notes of baking spiced laced macerated peaches come in with a top note of subtle caramel. The nose is unmistakably fruity, but carries the oak influence in the background.

Sip: The palate has a middling to heavy weight and a prickly heat to it. It drinks significantly hotter than 40% A.B.V. would imply. Notes of ripe apricot, peach, and nectarine come out and have a hint of caramelized brown sugar and spices.

Savor: The ending carries over the heat but brings in more oak and a hint of bitterness and unripe stone fruit.

Martell VSOP is fruit on the nose and fire on the palate. This is a rare case of dramatic discontinuity between the nose and the palate. Which is particularly confusing given that the proof isn’t particularly high. While the fruit notes are nice, this is hard to sip straight.

In Cocktails

In a Sidecar it brings the fruit in spades. The drink pops with notes of strawberries, apricot, marmalade, and peach. The overall notes of orange and lemon get prolonged appearances as a result of the relatively weak showing of oak and rich preserved fruit flavors. The result is a refreshing and bright sidecar that’s short of depth.

In Review – Martell VSOP

The value of Martell VSOP is in a price tag that sits below the $40 mark. That’s about where the appeal ends. The cognac in the bottle doesn’t match up with the presentation of the label and bottle. The result is something that’s acceptable, but not a recommendation.

Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac

Posted on April 5, 2020June 21, 2020 by Nick

It would not be unexpected for visions of brown leather furniture and crystal decanters to go through ones head at the mention of Cognac. Exuding an old world luxury, you might imagine a snifter cradling a pretty dark liquor held by men in their finest clothes puffing on cigars in a wood paneled room. While this doubtlessly still happens, Cognac’s markets and demographics have changed, leading to products with different intentions, like Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac.

Wait – what is Cognac?

Before we get into Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac, let’s first talk a little about what Cognac is. Cognac is specific form of Brandy from the Cognac region of France. You can think of this as how bourbon is whiskey – except made to exacting specifications of the law. Cognacs are distilled from wines made from Ugni Blanc (or occasionally two other varietals that make up 2% of Cognac production). These wines are distilled twice under specific restricted processes that end up making eau de vie. These eau de vie are then blended to make Cognac.

The process of blending the aged eau de vies is critical. Wine is a natural product, and therefore changes from year to year. The blending process of taking multiple eau de vies helps to ensure a consistency in the product.

Eau de vie are aged in barrels that can be reused as many times desired (as long as they never contain a non-wine product ie. Bourbon). These ages of these blended eau de vie then help to designate the Cognac’s classificaton. As Cognacs do not wear age statements, these are the classifications to help you understand the product:

V.S. (Very Special) – A minimum of 2 years in oak (sometimes known as three star)
V.S.O.P. (Very Superior Old Pale) – A minimum of 4 years in oak.
Napoleon – A minimum of 6 years in oak.
X.O. (Extra Old) – A minimum of 10 years in oak.
Hors d’âge (Beyond Age) – Equal to X.O. by years – a marketing term to designate a higher quality.

These are really the basics of Cognac – but far from the full trip you could take down the rabbit hole. For a great in-depth read – check out this guide from Eater.

Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac

Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac represents one of the new style of V.S. cognacs on the market. Specifically designated for mixing, these Cognac’s seek to have a more robust profile to help shine in cocktails. Pierre Ferrand 1840 is made in the Grande Champagne region of Cognac, and is distilled on the lees. The eau de vie are then aged in multiple environments ranging from humid to dry across an unspecified variety of casks. So does Pierre Ferrand 1840 have the right setup to work in cocktails?

Sight: A delightfully rich amber, boarding onto orange.

Smell: Raisins, dried apricot, violets and other flowers wrap with hints of ester and poached pears. Orange marmalade and notes of caramel join in, and hints of leather and tobacco peak around.

Sip: The start is interestingly sweet, and beautifully viscous, almost lanolin like on the tongue. The profile changes gradually, moving from sweet, caramel like and floral with hints of pear and fruit toward something more dense. The transition moves toward oak with a spiced cigar box – and there’s a touch of tannin here from a strong woodsy finish.

Savor: The ending maintains a burnt marshmallow, baked fruits, and strong finish of oak. The ending lingers with abundant spice tannin.

Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac is designed for mixing, and has a suitably complex character to justify it’s reasonable price tag. The character is quite good, and the texture is delightful. While one wouldn’t sit back and sip this on it’s own, it plays well in classics like the sidecar. Overall, for the price Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac is well crafted and flavorful.

Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac is our go to bottle in our home bar, and our recommendation to you. If you’re beginning a home bar, check out our Beginning Bottles for a Home Bar for more recommendations.

For more info – check our Pierre Ferrand’s Website.