Tastes

To say I bought two of the 50ml samples instead of a 750ml bottle from the other big cognac players - because they were affordable and were there, is redundant. I've consumed bottles of the VSOP releases from both Hennessy and Martell. But it's the Courvoisier that had them beat. The Courvoisier XO, however, has been wantonly expropriated by rap culture, due in no small part to Busta Rhymes 2001 hit, "Pass the Courvoisier". (Featuring P.Diddy, no less. Allow me the liberty to describe the track's lyricism as NSFW..... but, if it betters Courvoisier's bottom line, then, who am I to judge.) With this notion in my head ("What will my partner think?"), I decided to go with the Rémy Martin miniatures, instead. Fittingly enough, this was the one major cognac brand I'd never had. The nose is figs and raisins, with a vein of orange candy and red licorice. The nose becomes a tad drier with each sip, but the raisin notes linger while eclipsing into purple grape aromas. Sweet orange peel and red grapes on palate, before baking spices and leather take over. Following sips reveal light honey notes, which I found quite good. The finish is quite dry, more so than the Camus XO Elegance. But it leaves my mouth with a slight leathery feeling that I find pleasing - even as orange spice notes pop here and there. Is that a sign this holds a high ratio of decades old cognac? I don't doubt it. This is a very well designed cognac XO - especially the finish - but at a 45% price point over the Camus, I'm not convinced the premium is worth it. For the same price, I could pick up an exquisitely-aged scotch like a Glendronach 18 or Glenfarclas 25. And that's where I begin to question the overall VFM for this spirit, which is, afterall milder and less complex. (Disclaimer: this is only one of the five cognac releases I've had, so my limited experience should be put into consideration. Perhaps the sweet crap is what I enjoy at this stage?) At this point, I am considering just parenthetically separating cognac into a past phase, and moving on to armagnac. Nevertheless, if you feel you'd still enjoy the palate and wouldn't mind having a cool bottle (it resembles a ribboned Livesavers candy - said to reflect a waterdrop - and features a friggin' centaur on the label) - well, you could do much worse.

The nose is a study in aromas, loaded with raisins and dates. There are brief flashes of orange peel and sugar. After successive tipples, the nose turns to cinnamon-heavy orange candy. The palate begins without much sweetness, and reminds me of coffee, overly-diluted with milk. Oranges, honey, red grapes, and cinnamon appear on the mid-palate, before the heat delivers a finish of vermouth, bitter oranges, winter spices, and oak. The body here at 80 proof is a tad thin for my scotch and bourbon cask-strength conditioned palate. The nose reveals the 'Elegance' of this cognac's name, but the palate comes up a bit short. This is an example of a well-aged cognac - it's an XO afterall - where the length of maturation has blanched a degree of the fruitiness from it, a thing easily found in VS and VSOP stock (along with the ethanol rough notes). Still, the bottle design is attractive and accompanied by a thick screw cap made from dense glass (I mean, like David could've used it to defeat Goliath). I bought the gift box edition, where two copitas were included. Value wise, I don't begrudge this at all. But I may have to do a SBS with an XO from one of the big players (i.e. Courvoisier, Hennessy, Martell, or Rémy Martin) to know for certain.