With the announcement just last month that the latest cellar master for Louis XIII’s Cognac will be Pierrette Trichet, (a lady!), we thought it was about time we delved into the world of cognac with our customers, and explored how best to enjoy it. The fact that Trichet is only the 4th Cellar Master for Louis XIII shows that she must be hugely talented in her profession, and the fact that she is the first female Cellar Master for any Cognac company shows that we are (finally) seeing women prominent in a male dominated area.
Trichet has the job of combining up to 1200 different brandies aged anywhere from 40-100 years, to produce a mouth-watering Cognac that lives up to Louis XIII’s extraordinarily high standards (rather her than me!). In a recent interview with Forbes Magazine, Trichet said, “Today, I taste Cognac that my predecessors created in the past. My Mission is to transmit the heritage to the next generation”.
Selling anywhere from £1800 a bottle, Remy Martin’s Louis XIII is a phenomenal Cognac, however you don’t need to break the bank to drink a good bottle – here at Nickolls and Perks we offer a wide range of Cognacs to suit all pockets.
Created from white grapes grown within one of the six ‘selected’ areas of France, Cognac is usually categorised in three ways:
V.S (Very Special) – the youngest brandy within this Cognac is aged for a minimum of two years in casks.
V.S.O.P (Very Special Superior Old) – the youngest brandy within this Cognac is aged for a minimum of four years in casks.
X.O (Extra Old) – the youngest brandy within this Cognac has been aged for a minimum of six years in cask, but is often upwards of 20 years. In 2016 the minimum ageing requirement for an X.O will increase to 10 years.
Other grades such as Napoleon or Vieux are also widely used.
Enjoyed mainly as an after dinner treat, cognac is becoming more popular of late; it’s incredibly versatile in that it can also be used in a variety of cocktails. How and when would we suggest you drink it? Well whenever and in whatever way you like, there is no right or wrong way of enjoying Cognac, it is a deliciously complex spirit that should be celebrated and savoured in a number of ways. One thing we do suggest though, is that it is served in a tulip shaped glass, to ensure you are getting the full bouquet before tasting.
We stock a range of Cognacs including:
Hine from £34.67 for the V.S.O.P, up to £115.20 for their X.O.
Frapin from £47.79 for the V.S, to £164.50 for the X.O.
Hennessy from £32 for the V.S up to £120 for the X.O.
Hardy Cognac is a definite favourite of ours, we are the only stockists of this range within the UK, and with the V.S starting at £32.40, and the X.O just £60 we cant help but recommend it to, well, anyone who will listen! It was hugely popular both in store and online for us last Christmas, and even featured on our Christmas table. We will have it on taste in store between now and Christmas, so why not pop in for a try?