cognac?

[Fireman]

Hey all of you who partake in the fine spirits with your cigars,

I generally like to relax with a snifter or Vintage Character Port when I smoke my cigars, but as of late I have had the erge to try cognac. I have never had any and was wondering if anyone could help me in my selection. Keep in mind I have never tried it before so start me out with something for a first timer.
thanks
Brett

[sgoselin]

Personally I would go with Remy Martin VSOP. It is moderately priced and quite tasty.

[Ryan]

I prefer Hennessey VSOP. It is smooth as caramel! It goes well on or off the rocks. Retail $30

[Justso]

Steve,

Have you tried Remy XO? If so, could you give a little description of the flavor? Does the pricetag match the quality?

-Justin

[seagarsmoker]

I'm a Kelts XO fan myself. I do like almost all cognacs that I have tasted.

[sgoselin]

Hey Justin, I do like Remy XO, but IMHO it is not worth paying for more then the VSOP. The XO was largely created for the Chinese market, which is huge. If you are ever invited to a traditional Chinese banquet show up with a bottle of XO, big points. The XO has great vanilla notes and is quite delightful, however, the VSOP comes very close.

[Lamar]

Best that I have ever had is Chateau de la Fontpinot. I started drinking this stuff back when it was $25 a bottle and now that it is around $80 a bottle I had to let it go. Great stuff, with loads of spice, vanilla, and grape flavors that go on and on.

I have shifted to Rip Van Winkles 15 year old Bourbon for my special stuff (it comes in at around $35) and Wild Turkey 101 for my every day stuff.

[Lusi]

I won't indulge in listing my favorite cognacs, as I'm of the heretical opinion that cigars, much as they are my passion, interfere with the fine nuances you get from high-end wines (I believe cognac is a wine and not a spirit). So I'll just mention a low-end, no-name cognac that I find, nonetheless quite satisfying--Gabriel Andreu--btn $20 and $25 a bottle. For what it's worth, I prefer Cognac with medium to mild smokes and a good solid malt with heavy-duty sticks.

[ESP]

One of my favourite cognacs is Pierre Ferrand which has a range of cognacs - all single estate - from Grande Champagne area which produces the best and most expensive grapes for cognac. The Pierre Ferrand Amber (around $25-30) is very smooth and although only 10yr old when bottled, is much smoother than many of the VSOP and even some of the Extras produced by the big boys. Actually the big houses such as Martel, Hennessy and such, produce blended cognacs that come from many different crus (or estates). IMO those single estate cognacs have more character than the blended ones,, unless you want to spend mucho box for a bottle of Martell Cordon Bleu.,, Sorry for going off track,, in short, my personal preference is either Pierre Ferrand or Pierre de Segonzac (the current producer of original Pierre Ferrand).

Happy hunting

[Lusi]

Ditto on Pierre Ferrand--vy tasty all across the line!

[Skyler1534]

I have to throw my twenty-two and a half cents at Lusi, here. I personally love fine wine and fine cigars just about equally. Trying different brands (cigars) or Vineyards (wine) by themselves is definitely a good idea, but the enjoyment you can get by matching a good cigar with a good and appropriate wine and creating a new flavor is great.
-Skyler

[kjpman]

I am just entering the realm of cognac and cigars, and the little expeirence ive had has been memorable!!

...kjpman