The Most Wished For Brandies Last Week

This VSOP offering from Courvoisier is a Fine Champagne Cognac meaning it is comprised of the top two sub-regions in Cognac: Grande Champagne (at least 50% of the blend) and Petite Champagne. Cognacs are prized from these areas due to the high chalk content in the soil which makes the vines work harder to get water which results in better wine.

Pear Brandy was one of the first products made by St George Spirits after they were founded in 1982. They start with whole organic Bartlett pears, picked at the height of ripeness and distill in copper pot-stills. The goal here, as with all great eau-de-vie is to create a pure unaffected expression of the base distillate. About 30 pounds of fruit are used to create just one 750ml bottle.

Yann Fillioux is the current Master Blender for Hennessy and in fact, the Fillioux family has been blending for Maison Hennessy for over 200 years. Hennessy VS was first introduced in 1865 by Maurice Hennessy, although the brand was known as "Three Star" rather than VS at the time.

Hine Homage Cognac is a blend of Early-Landing cognacs from the Grande Champagne region from 3 older vintages: 1984, 1986, and 1987 which were matured in the UK. Early Landing cognacs are characterized by exportation prior to maturation. This was blended with Fine Champagne cognac aged in Jarnac; all of the brandy was aged at least 10 years prior to bottling.

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.

Singani is a spirit that has been produced since 1530. It has its own DO (denomination of origin) and GI (geographical indication) and can only be produced in the Bolivian Andes. The grapes (of which only muscat of Alexandria can be used) must be planted at a minimum of 5250 feet (1600 meters). As Singani is not recognized as its own spirit category in most of the world, it can only be described as a brandy, but it is better to think of it as an eau-de-vie. This Singani is the first to be available in the United States and for that you can thank director, Steven Soderbergh and his blood, sweat, and tears (and money).

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.

The world's cognac is supplied by the big four producers -- no need to name them, no doubt you’ve at least heard of, if not tasted them. Producers that distill and bottle themselves account for a trickle of the region's production, which makes labels like Paul Beau (which started bottling independently at the end of the 1800s) such an anomaly. Their vineyards are in the heart of Cognac's Grande Champagne region (considered the best of the region). Also notable, this VSOP bottling averages brandies aged 15 years -- quite a leap from the required 4 years.

This is 100% apple brandy aged at least 3 years in charred oak barrels. It is bottled at 100 proof. The Laird's apple brandies are produced from cider that is allowed to ferment naturally; no commercial yeast strain is used.

Dating back to 1724, Rémy Martin has a long and storied history in Cognac. This marque, 1738 Royal Accord, pays tribute to one of Rémy Martin's earliest accolades when the French King Louis XV bestowed a reward of excellence on the distillery. A blend of various eaux-de-vie, this Fine Champagne Cognac is a step up from Rémy's flagship VSOP.