The Best Special Occasion Cognacs

Every bottle of Cognac Park Extra contains a blend of eaux-de-vie aged between 40 to 60 years old, with each distillate spending its first year in lightly toasted new French Limousin oak, and then transferred to older oak casks. The ugni blanc grapes used were harvested exclusively from the Grande Champagne cru, considered one of the best and favored growing regions for cognac. The complex soil is rich with chalk and limestone, making it most fertile for grape-growing. This cognac is one of the high end expressions in the brand's line up, showcasing the best attributes of the Grande Champagne cru.

The cellar master for Rémy Martin blends up to 400 different eaux de vie to create this XO cognac. It features eaux de vie aged 10-37 years with an average of 25 years of maturation. This XO is a Fine Champagne with 85% of the product sourced from the Grande Champagne region, the highest cru in Cognac and the remainder hailing from Petite Champagne.

The A.C. Meukow & Co House was founded in 1862 by Auguste-Christophe and Gustav Meukow, who were sent to France by Tsar Alexander II to acquire cognac for his Court. Currently, Meukow is owned and managed by the Coste family. For this XO, eaux de vie from four of the six regions in cognac are utilized: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Fins Bois and Bons Bois. Bottled at 40% ABV.

Dudognon is a grower-producer cognac house with the family having grown grapes on their estate since 1776 in what is now known as the Grande Champagne region. This Heritage bottling is aged up to 40 years in cask, but remains somewhat translucent which is attributed in large part by the fact that zero additives are used. No boisé, no caramel, and no sugar syrup is used; a rarity in the world of cognac today.

This XO Cognac from Frapin is made from ugni blanc grapes that are grown, distilled, aged and bottled at Château Fontpinot, a single family estate that’s located in the region’s Grande Champagne cru. This particular cognac is distilled over lees and aged between 15 and 20 years in a dry cellar before it’s blended and bottled at 41% ABV.

Cordon Bleu is the shining star of Martell's core lineup, until you move your way up to the ultra-ultra premium offerings. Cordon Bleu first debuted in 1912, and incorporates eaux-de-vie aged between 10 and 25 years. While the cognac includes grapes from four regions, the majority is from Borderies. The Martell house maintains usage of roughly 50 percent of all grape production from that region.

Hennessy's XO first debuted in 1870, crafted by Maurice Hennessy for friends and family. The blend incorporates over 100 eaux-de-vie with ages up to 30 years. It's said to be the first XO ever released, with Hennessy dubbing that name himself. According to the brand, that's why the full name is technically Hennessy The Original X.O.

CAMUS XO Borderies Single Estate is made exclusively of grapes grown and harvested from one vineyard in the Borderies region belonging to the CAMUS family. Released first to global travel retail and Europe in early 2018, its availability expanded to to the rest of the global market shortly thereafter.

From the House of Fussigny, which sits on the banks of the Charente River in the town of Cognac, this spirit is a blend of two eaux-de-vie distilled in the Cognac region of France: one from Grande Champagne and another from Petite Champagne. The distillate is aged at least 10 years in French oak casks to qualify as an XO, although most XO cognacs contain much older spirit.

Delamain Vesper XO consists of cognac aged 30-35 years of age. Aged in 350-liter very old Limousin oak casks which are stored in their in humid cellars near the Charente River. Once selected, the cognacs are blended and aged for 2 more years to marry. Made entirely from 100% Grande Champagne and brought down in proof by the addition of very old low-proof eaux-de-vie.