Author: Camper English

  • Otard Cognac Visit

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    Camper English
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    Last month I took a big trip to Cognac to learn about cognac. One of the many houses I visited was Otard. This cognac house is located in the former fortifying castle of Cognac in which Francois the First was born, on the Charente River next door to Hennessy. A tour of Otard is part…

  • A Visit to Courvoisier Cognac

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    On a recent trip to France, I stopped in to Courvoisier cognac for a visit. Courvoisier is located not in the city of Cognac, but in Jarnac- one of the two other main cognac towns along with Segonzac. Jarnac appears to be a bigger city than Cognac and looks a bit more lively. I popped…

  • Cognac Pierre Ferrand Visit

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    One night on a recent visit to France, I visited Cognac Pierre Ferrand. It was awesome. Our group had the good fortune to visit Ferrand on the first day of the cognac harvest, and the bad fortune to arrive so late that we missed seeing it. Alas. Still, we had a tour of the still…

  • Cognac Frapin Visit

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    A few weeks ago I went to France to learn about cognac. One of the stops was the house of Cognac Frapin. Frapin sells only estate-grown/distilled/aged cognac, produced in the Grande Champagne delimited region of the cognac area near the town of Segonzac. Frapin is a massively impressive operation from the cellars to the blending…

  • A Cooperage in Cognac

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    I've been to nearly 50 distilleries of all kinds of spirits, but a few weeks ago was my first visit to a real cooperage- finally! Vicard Tonnelleries is a 6th generation cooperage near Cognac in France, where they produce 60,000 French, Eastern European, and American oak barrels each year.  American oak? Yes indeed. They buy…

  • A Visit to the House of Remy Martin Cognac

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    In France recently, I had a tour and dinner at the house of Remy Martin in Cognac. They don't allow photography in the cellar, so this post is a little light on the pictures. (Suck it up and read.) We entered the building at night so it's hard to recall exactly what the house complex…

  • Cognac Tesseron Visit

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    While in France recently I visited the cognac house of Tesseron. This brand is notable for having probably the second largest collection of old cognacs in demijohns in all of Cognac.  Cognac can only age for so long in barrel before the spirit becomes flabby and loses its aromatic qualities. For cognac made from grapes…

  • Cognac Visit: Bache Gabrielsen

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    While in the Cognac region of France, I stopped in to cognac house Bache Gabrielsen for a visit. I was greeted by fourth-generation family member Herve Bache-Gabrielsen and taken to their tasting room around a wooden table in the upstairs office. Bache Gabrielsen is located on a small, nondescript street in Cognac. There are few…

  • A Day at Hennessy

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    The first stop on a big trip to Cognac, France last week was Hennessy. I met up with my host Cyrille at the Hennessy office, one of the Hennessy buildings that dominates the waterfront on the Charente River in the small city of Cognac.  First we talked a bit about sales. Hennessy sells the most…

  • All About Cognac

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    I went to Cognac last week to learn about cognac. I learned a lot. So what is cognac, anyway? Cognac is an aged brandy distilled from grapes in the Charente region of France. The Cognac region is separated into six delimited subregions based primarily on the makeup of the soil: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies,…