whiskey, cognac, brandy

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

Nothing personal, but they are the two brands I would NEVER recommend. Courvoisier is nothing but a oak extract, rough and one dimensional. Martell, only in its XO guise, could be enjoyable and still, too much oak and color addition for me.

Remy is the only big house I can ever tolerate, less oak and more fruit definition. But its like saying bundle cigars are great, its still am industrial size production.

Small houses are the way to go, until you try some you will never know what Cognac truly is.

he did say reasonably priced i will change what i said to thay are my fav reasonably priced cognac as that is what i ment

[JohnnyFlake]

After becoming involved with this thread I went through my stash of hidden bottles of libations that I have had for at least 15 years and I came across a bottle of St-Remy French Napoleon Brandy V.S.O.P., Is it a decent brandy?

I also found a bottle of Courvoisier "Le Cognac de Napoleon" V.S. from Jarnac France. What about this one, is it a decent Cognac?

[TheRiddick]

You can buy a nice bottle of Deret for $30+. Will easily beat anything at double, triple and even higher ratio from Courvoisier, Martell, Hennessy and Remy. And he can enjoy that bottle over many a night.

Personally, Courvoisier, Hennessy and Martell are the last bottles I would ever recommend to anyone.

[TheRiddick]

Johnny, sorry we posted at the same time. I only wish you were in Bay Area, I'd be happy to pop a couple of my favorites for you. Courvoisier is definitely not one of them.

If you have a nearby shop with an online catalog I'd be happy to see what you can try. As is, I have a nice VS bottle that I brought back from Boston years ago (a few actually) made by a very small house, quality wise it will easily "kill" anything at double and triple the price from the "industrial" houses, I paid $20 each for them. There are some great buys, but you need to know what to buy.

I also have some Ferrand, Deret and need to re-stock on Gourmel. Are you planning on attending any Bay Area herfs?

If you feel like it, there is a Petrossin Bar right off the main entrance (check in) to Bellagio, piano bar. If you can afford it (and I don't mean it in any derogatory way, economy is tough), they do serve basic Gourmel by the glass. They also allow cigar smoking and I bring my own.

But I am also sure that if they serve Gourmel at Bellagio, then some local liquor shop must have it at retail.

[TheRiddick]

Johnny,

Did some snooping around, here is what I found:

Leopold Gourmel ($50 plus shipping)
http://www.shoppersvineyard.com/prod....asp?pID=36502

Ferrand sample size, for $2 you can order a few:
http://www.wallywine.com/p-29955-fer...50ml-50ml.aspx

Ferrand:
http://www.shoppersvineyard.com/prod....asp?pID=30377


Spec's in TX has a good selection, look at lowest priced Ferrand and Deret:
http://www.specsonline.com/cgi-bin/s...ors|150|COGNAC

Deret:
http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sk...TPV-Googlebase

[mosesbotbol]

Tesseron is another brand to consider.

[JohnnyFlake]

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

Johnny, sorry we posted at the same time. I only wish you were in Bay Area, I'd be happy to pop a couple of my favorites for you. Courvoisier is definitely not one of them.

If you have a nearby shop with an online catalog I'd be happy to see what you can try. As is, I have a nice VS bottle that I brought back from Boston years ago (a few actually) made by a very small house, quality wise it will easily "kill" anything at double and triple the price from the "industrial" houses, I paid $20 each for them. There are some great buys, but you need to know what to buy.

I also have some Ferrand, Deret and need to re-stock on Gourmel. Are you planning on attending any Bay Area herfs?

If you feel like it, there is a Petrossin Bar right off the main entrance (check in) to Bellagio, piano bar. If you can afford it (and I don't mean it in any derogatory way, economy is tough), they do serve basic Gourmel by the glass. They also allow cigar smoking and I bring my own.

But I am also sure that if they serve Gourmel at Bellagio, then some local liquor shop must have it at retail.

Thanks for the input!

You did not say anything about the other bottle I have. The St-Remy French Napoleon Brandy V.S.O.P., Is it a decent brandy?

[TheRiddick]

Its certainly better than Courvoisier and Hennessy, IMO. Should be smooth enough and not too oaky. As you said, decent and should go well with a good cigar, I'd actually pick a cigar with a bit of a spicy kick to it.