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Navazos-Palazzi Montilla Old Brandy Single Cask (Bottled August 2013)
Distiller Score 98
Upon first glance, you know you're not in Kansas anymore. The color is as dark as a cup of coffee. You are then bombarded by an array of aromas ranging from green beans, coffee, chocolate-covered raisins, and old leather. There’s a touch of gasoline found as well. The palate continues much of the same as the aroma with an emphasis on sweet, rich flavors, dried fruits, and nuts. This brandy is rustic and dirty but in the most alluring way possible and the acidity is shockingly fresh and balanced, particularly for a brandy of this age. If you can find a bottle, do yourself a favor and treat yourself.
Reviewed by Omari Wheat
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Delamain Vesper XO Grande Champagne Cognac
Distiller Score 92
The nose is ripe with dried fruit, ripe banana, baking spices and forest floor. On the palate it's rich almost to the point of being chewy and is fairly tannic. The flavors consist of maple, candy apple, lemon peel, fresh figs and burnt sugar. An intense but fairly approachable XO cognac with all of the density and depth you would expect.
Reviewed by Omari Wheat
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Lark Riviere du Nord XO
Distiller Score 90
The brandy is reminiscent of early morning bushland dew, with slight eucalyptus and bush wood aromas rising through softly. Notes of wood spice and licorice spill from the glass with the spices intensifying to a soft fudge. On the palate, the brandy turns fresh and spicy, and the fudge has turns to sugared sweetness hiding behind a curtain of soft fruits. If agitated, the wood builds to a crescendo before settling back down into a leather back smoking chair. The finish is long and every now and then the tongue will buzz as a new spices like cardamom, vanilla pods, cinnamon or saffron run across the top before settling down to rest.
Reviewed by Marcus Parmenter
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Baron Gaston Legrand Bas Armagnac 1984
Distiller Score 96
Roasted pecan and hazelnut, tarte tatin, lemon peel, herbs, and cigar-locker notes appear on the bouquet. The mouthfeel is rich and creamy with flavors of hazelnut, marzipan, oak, dried apples, cedar, and tea spices to complement clover honey, and orange blossom notes. The finish is long and satisfying, and bring cinnamon, a bit of cedar, and some more cigar notes.
Reviewed by Distiller Staff
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Paul Beau Hors d'Âge Grande Champagne Cognac
Distiller Score 93
The house style at Paul Beau is deep with a broad, meaty profile. The difference between the big house entries in this age category is stark: you will not find any of the soft, vanilla character common in big houses here, but rather a heady combination of toasted walnut, cherry wood, and savory rancio. This would qualify as an XO - the youngest brandies are 30 years old, but as is standard at Paul Beau it has been declassified as a Hors D'Age. The flavors have a beautiful linear sense started a powerful, lush impact and continuing into a long, savory finish.
Reviewed by John Rankin
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Château de Ravignan Bas-Armagnac 1985
Distiller Score 95
Ravignan's brandies combine the power and structure of a short stay in new, French oak barrels with the succulent fruit of Armagnac distilled to a low degree of alcohol. The 1985 vintage is a fantastic example that shows soaring (and a bit uncommon) flavors of vanilla bean with a more classic back drop of milk chocolate, prune, and exotic spice. The mouthfeel is rich and decadent -- not surprising for a spirit that has spent 29 years maturing. After a lingering taste of Asian spice and clove, it's apparent that this is world class armagnac.
Reviewed by John Rankin
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Cognac Park XO Traditional Reserve
Distiller Score 92
Park Cognac's XO is deep and complex, leading with notes of dark chocolate, hazelnut, and dark plums. Vanilla, oak, and hazelnut persist on a long-lasting finish. It's a decadent, rich cognac made for savoring slowly.
Reviewed by Jacob Grier
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Clear Creek Douglas Fir Brandy
Distiller Score 90
Because a maceration is done after distillation, expect to see a little sediment in the bottle. As advertised, the aroma of Clear Creek Douglas Fir Brandy is full of pine and has you thinking of a winter wonderland. The fruit in the brandy is a nice foil to help balance the herbal and woody notes. There's a nice mint taste to the finish. If you are a gin or absinthe drinker, make sure to give this a try. Bottled at 94 proof, it does finish a little hot.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Pellehaut 1983 Armagnac Ténarèze
Distiller Score 93
This has a beautiful mahogany color with scarlet highlights -- indicative of the non-manipulation by any additions including dilution by water. The bold, zesty, citrus character of the armagnac is amplified from a brawny 47.8 degrees of alcohol, but the long aging has also given the brandy a nutty, rancio flavor leading to excellent balance. This a powerful spirit -- perhaps a bit much for newcomers to the category, but a very rare treat for the initiated.
Reviewed by John Rankin
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ABK6 XO Family Reserve Cognac
Distiller Score 92
Aromas of spice road cardamom, cinnamon and clove waft out of the glass containing this rich, amber-colored Cognac. Tart, dry fruits (dates, apricot, fig) enter the palate, which has a toffee richness. The long finish is toasty and warming, with a nice hit of rancio at the end.
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster
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Martell Cordon Bleu Cognac
Distiller Score 91
Find a big, complex nose, with candied fruits, along with oak and a light spiciness, as well as dark chocolate and a deep nuttiness. The palate is smooth and rich, big with raisins and red fruits before moving into oak and faint baking spices which provide a bit of depth. Find almonds and marzipan on a warming finish, along with cinnamon and light pepper.
Reviewed by Jake Emen
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Copper & Kings 3 Marlenas Apple Brandy
Distiller Score 90
Bright and floral nose, with honey, McIntosh apples, toffee, and butterscotch. A creamy palate shifts to baked apples with oak, black pepper and spice, tequila and agave, and a slight buttery riff. The finish intermingles floral notes with a citrus zestiness of orange peels, smoke, and closing vegetal notes with aged tequila.
Reviewed by Jake Emen