E&J VS Brandy

I apologize in advance for this long intro. My grandfather passed away a couple months ago and we found his stash of alcohol while sorting through his house. He and my Grandma were not drinkers, but it appears that they either received a lot of alcohol as gifts or kept it on hand for guests. Lots of old wine and champagne, old bottles of Canadian whisky, gin, various liqueurs and this brandy. Everything was stored in a cabinet above his refrigerator so I’m sure all the wine is long past disgusting and the champagne all turned brown and had black chunks in it. The spirits however lived on. He had an unopened Canadian Club from 1967, an open but very full Seagrams VO from 1976 and a few others. Nothing that would cost more than $10-15 today, but the nostalgia alone makes it more valuable to me. I opened this pre-1988 brandy today (I know it’s pre-88 because that’s when the surgeon general warning was first put on alcoholic beverages and this one don’t have it!). Anyways here’s what I found. Bottled at 40% ABV, most likely chill filtered and colored. This is a sort of bronze amber. There is no age statement, but I believe the V.S. designation (which this old bottle doesn’t even sport) means that it’s at least 2 years old. The nose is very sweet and fruity. Red grapes and berries. Pears and hints of toasted coconut. It almost has a corn-like sweetness to it and it’s quite floral. Almond butter, candle wax and potpourri. Potpourri like if it was in another room and a breeze carried it over to your nose. Dry grass and somewhat earthy. Honey and butterscotch. A little vanilla and wood spice. Much more depth and complexity than I had hoped for. The more you let it sit in the glass the sweeter it gets with syrupy goodness. A bit of a peppery arrival on the palate but not too intense. Honey and strong butterscotch. Grape skins, earthy and waxy. More butterscotch. It shows its youth here with some harshness and hits of alcohol at times. Light to medium bodied mouthfeel. Creamy, mouthwatering and then dry. A medium length finish with more butterscotch and some salted caramels. I went in thinking this was going to be super harsh and better used as drain cleaner, but it’s really not bad at all. Other than the occasional alcohol harshness it’s very enjoyable. Granted I have very little experience with brandy, but I liked it for what it is. Superb value for money. I’m tasting from a 200mL bottle that today would cost me a whopping $3.48, and a 750mL bottle would be $11. Can’t beat that. I’d give this a 5 for sentimental reasons, but in reality it’s a 3.25 that gets a bump to 3.5 for the value. Cheer 🥃

For a bottom shelf brandy ($11) you get what you pay for. on the other hand, if you want a cheap brandy or looking to try for the first time E&J is the one to get.