Top 10 Cognac & Brandy » Buy Our Best Brands Online | Caskers (2024)

FAQs

What are the top 5 brandy brands? ›

Hennessy is a cognac house that needs no introduction as it's one of the most well-known cognac brands in the world — it's also the top-selling brand in the United States. Hennessy has one of the largest collections of eaux-de-vie in the world, with over 350,000 barrels stored in 65 cellars.

Every year that we've polled for cognac Hennessy has taken the top spot. No other brand has managed the same level of domination over its category since this report began 15 years ago.

If you're new to brandy alcohol, our Best Overall pick is Argonaut Fat Thumb Brandy . This California-made, 86-proof blend of alembic and Coffey still brandies is complex and known for its flavors of caramel apples, rich oak, coconut, and toasted vanilla beans. It's lightly spiced and mellow, making it easy to drink.

"In some ways, cognac is the gold standard of brandy." France has enacted strict quality standards to preserve the integrity of cognac and its reputation as one of the finest styles of brandy available. French law dictates that it can only be produced in the state of Charente in the Cognac region.

Cognac is a Very Superior Old Pale classification, and it is sometimes given a 5 star marking. The eau-de-vie has been aged for a legal minimum of 5 years.

For the second consecutive year, the prestigious title of the world's best brandy at the 2024 World Drink Awards was bestowed upon a South African brandy, Van Ryn's 15 YO Potstill Brandy.

There is no denying that the Big 4 Cognac houses - Hennessy, Remy Martin, Martell, and Courvoisier - are the Cognac region's very own locomotives, increasing the presence and visibility of our beloved spirit, Cognac, around the world.

The United States: the leading Cognac market

Traditionally popular in American mixology, Cognac plays a leading role in a country where the co*cktail and spirits culture is widespread.

Why cognac is not popular in France? ›

It's historic, tied to a specific region, and limited in availability. It's not, however, loved by the French. Ninety-five percent of all of the Cognac produced every year is exported out of the country. French people, it turns out, simply don't have a taste for the spirit.

There's more to brandy than Cognac and Armagnac. The French do it exceedingly well (they make Calvados, too), but countries outside France have a long and noble history of brandy production. It's made all over Europe, and across the New World – in South Africa, they've been making brandy since the 17^th century.

What does VSOP mean? VSOP stands for “Very Superior Old Pale”. To achieve this classification, VSOP cognacs must be created from eaux-de-vie aged for at least four years. The VSOP category includes designations such as “Old” or “Reserve”.

Metaxa 5 Star Brandy combines brandy aged for 5 years, Muscat wines from Samos and Lemnos, and a Mediterranean herb infusion. The perfect night cap, over ice.

Hors d'âge ('beyond age') is a designation formally equal to XO for Cognac, but for Armagnac it designates brandy that is at least ten years old. In practice, the term is used by producers to market a high-quality product beyond the official age scale.

Cognac, Armagnac, Applejack, Pisco, Grappa, Brandy de Jerez, Kirschwasser and Calvados are some of the most premium sorts in the category, which signifies the importance of the main berry or fruit content, the fermenting process, the distilling techniques or the locations of distilleries.

Choosing a brandy-based on smell (the nose).

The smell of a blend is another way to pick out a nice brandy. Sometimes your spirit might smell like heavy-proof alcohol. These spirits are either not aged for a long time or have been aged in stainless steel.