Top Cognacs Under $100

This Réserve Double Cask release from Pierre Ferrand is aged first in small French oak barrels for 7-10 years. This is then blended with 20 year-old cognac. Once blended, it is aged for one additional year in a humid cellar in casks which once held Banyuls wine, a fortified dessert wine. This is a permanent addition to the portfolio and replaces their Réserve bottling. Available in April 2017.

Delamain was established in 1920 and is still (mostly) family-owned. They are a cognac house which uses only eaux-de-vie from the highest cru in Cognac, the Grande Champagne region. Delamain Pale & Dry XO Cognac is named for its pale color and dry style of cognac. It is also the youngest release from the house with an average age of 25 years. There is no caramel color added and the proof is brought down with older cognac at a lower proof rather than with water.

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.

The “Natur & Eleganse” line is meant to be a bit of a modern update to the Bache-Gabrielsen house which dates its founding at 1905. The brandies show a bit more of a masculine take on the category and are not afraid of more intense wood flavors than may be typical with cognac. This XO is aged between 10-30 years and made exclusively from ugni blanc grapes grown in the Petite Champagne and Fins Bois regions.

This limited-edition blend is a project from Hennessy's 7th generation Master Blender Yann Fillioux. Along with the brand's tasting committee, he selected 80 to 100 eaux-de-vie to age 5 to 15 years in both young and old French oak casks. Bottled at its cask-strength of 43% ABV, the Hennessy Master Blender’s Selection N°1 debuted in the United States in October 2016.