Hennessy VS Cognac

The one, the only, the Henny. 40% of the cognac market share belongs to this house, hopefully all of those bottles sold weren’t just because of the name. These notes also come from an industry standard glass and not the preferred snifter so that may skew things more in its favour. First off, it’s way too dark. Unless they have some 300 year old juice they put in the blend for colour (which should be almost balsamic dark at that point), it is heavily adulterated with boise. However, I’ve been around this stuff for far too long without drinking it and the consistency of colour does say a lot about the maître de chai’s blending skill. Nose stings a little, but as a sign of youth, I’m okay with it. Apple orchard, lots of floral notes that I want to say are rose and lilac, purple drink (seriously) and some kind of sugar. Maybe blueberry honey? Palate betrays the age again, but as I’ve been enjoying younger and younger spirits of late, that isn’t a complaint. Aggressive with cinnamon and clove, grapeyness that reminds me of the campo de encanto pisco. Very faint oak notes, as it should be. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, somewhere on the lighter side of medium but not outright watery. Finish lasts longer the more you drink which may be dangerous for some. Used coffee filters, and some bitter notes from the colouring. Overall, it’s not as bad as I make it out to be to everyone that came in the liquor store looking for it. Is there better? Of course, but for the availability and really, the price, it’s not that easy to beat

Today I realized that the only cognac I have ever tried was a Louis XIII on a drunken date almost 20 years ago. I recall not liking it at all, though I was primarily a lite beer drinker then. So let's jump back in on the other end of the scale. 50ml neat at home. Nose is buttery, sightly herbal, some ethanol. Taste loses most of the butter, and has some bitter spice with the herbs and slight heat. Not really a fan. Mixed into a Sidecar: much better, mainly because now it is just the backbone beneath lemon and sugar. Like a nice alternative to a whisky sour. 7/30/19

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