Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cognac

Vintage Cognac, or Old Bottle of Booze?

qwip — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:01:59 -0800

Do you know vintage cognac? My Father-in-law was handed down a bottle of, assumably, nice cognac. It was given to his father as a gift from his company in the 1930s. It's been sitting in the basket it was packaged in for years and years and we'd really like to have more information about it. It's a bottle of "Cognac Napoleon, Grande Fine Champagne, Reserve". Pictures of the front label, the mark on the bottle's neck, and the back label. The only identifying info is the name "Reserve of L. Favert & Co." and "Imported by The Creevy Trading Cy" of Chicago on the back.

The back also says "Over 60 years old, bottled in 1910".

I've google as much as I can and the only thing that comes up looking remotely like this, is Cognac Napoleon Grande Champagne 1811 Reserve , and it's not that ( seen here halfway down the page).

Any insights or leads to what this bottle is and, perhaps, what it is worth, would be appreciated. Don't know if we should keep it as a nice heirloom or drink it as a nice cognac.

My Tastebuds seek "Black" Cognac...

petethered — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:37:46 -0800

About a year ago, while living in Honolulu, I went through a phase where I sampled many bottles of Cognac. I bought one bottle at Tamaras ( best store in Honolulu ) that my foggy memory recalls as "Black Cognac". It was similar in taste to Hennessy XO, but not as smooth and had a deep, rich, dark color.

For the life of me , I can't remember the name or even who bottled it. I asked once or twice at the store, but no one remembered it...

Please hivemind... tell me what I drank so I may enjoy it again.

It was NOT Hennessy Black... it was not Otard Cognac XO Black...

It was most likely a VSOP, but not sure...

What are the best liquors for the money?

Telf — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:42:30 -0800

What is your favorite price point liquor of a given style and why? I remember when I turned 21, I set out to build up my adult liquor collection. I spent a lot of my hard earned cash on Lagavulin and aged Macallan scotch. I bought Grey Goose vodka, Don Julio and Patron tequilas, cognac and even some port wine. I was very proud of my collection until I realized that my roommates were surreptitiously mixing my scotches with Coca Cola whenever they ran out of Jim Beam.

A few years later, I've given up the pretensions of trying to impress anyone with my liquor collection. At least until a bottle doesn't amount to half of my paycheck.

So here's my question:

What do you drink when you actually enjoy liquor but don't have the cash to get the great stuff? What is your favorite good enough liquor?

Cognac: the drink that's drank by... who, please?

krippledkonscious — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:32:47 -0800

Sittin' in my crib, sippin' on 'nac... Who was the first rapper to promote and popularize the imbibing of cognac? What song was it and when did it come out? I was listening to some '90s gangsta rap the other day while having a beer. And then I thought: "Who the hell started all this cognac-love, anyway?" Most Googlage recognizes that cognac has risen in popularity as a response to its endorsement in hip-hop/rap music, and usually they refer to Busta's "Pass the Courvosier." But I've heard references to cognac well before that (Snoop Dogg's "Gz Up, Hoes Down" in '93, and Ice Cube's "Down For Whatever" in '94, for instance).

Based on my own research (based on lyrics stored in my brain and just listening to whatever old school stuff I had on hand) I turned up, surprisingly, Paperboy's "Ditty" ("So Rhythm D, pour the orange juice / And let's relax while sippin' on 'nac"). This was the first reference I could find in popular rap music - it was released in January '93. Anybody know of anything previous?

I'm thinking either the song should have been fairly popular, or the rapper/group should have been influential enough that "sippin' on 'nac" would catch on as a meme. What say AskMe?

Brandy recommendation for Sazerac?

BT — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 08:16:01 -0800

Advice for making a brandy-based Sazerac. I'm going to making some Sazeracs tomorrow as part of a birthday celebration. I've got all the ingredients for the modern rye whiskey version, including the Peychaud's bitters (using Ricard instead of Herbsaint or another absinthe-substitute).

But I'm interested in having a bit of a whiskey version vs. old-school brandy version taste-off. Can anyone recommend a good, widely available brandy (cognac, I presume, but perhaps I'm off base) that would work in a Sazerac and be satisfying for drinking straight as well? I'm not well up on brandies, and the only type I've bought recently is calvados, which is clearly not called for here...

Best $20-$30 Cognac?

jalexei — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 07:20:45 -0800

Cognac Filter! Looking for a reasonably-priced ($20-$30?) but decent bottle of cognac to give as a gift. Not my drink so I don't know where to start.

Martell "Fine Cognac - How Do I Enjoy It?

nthdegx — Sat, 13 Dec 2003 18:36:07 -0800

I've received a bottle of Martell "Fine" Cognac for Christmas. I'm completely new to it. What are good ways to enjoy Cognac?