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Order All types Of Cognac from our Online Store
Order All types Of Cognac from our Online Store When it comes to understanding the bewildering terminology of cognac categories, it can leave any of us a little confused. That’s because the laws regarding the aging process of cognac date back many years and have changed very little since their inception.
So, to give you a helping hand we’ve crafted the following guide to demystify all those confusing terms and explain the different grades of cognac; allowing you to determine a VS from an XXO and wow your peers with your in-depth understanding of the world’s favorite brandy.
Before we begin, let’s just clarify a few points. It’s important to understand that no matter whether a cognac is a blend or a single cru they mature, or age, in an identical manner.
However, eau-de-vie from the terroir of Grande Champagne takes much longer to mature than those from the other growth regions. Cognac from the Fins Bois area takes the shortest time of all.
What this means in practical terms is that Grande Champagne cognac takes years (sometimes decades) longer to be honed to perfection. This is one of the factors that’s reflected in the price of the end product.
It is also worth noting that in contrast to a liquor such as whisky, where the name will denote how old the spirit is (21-year old, 12-year old, etc), cognac uses letters instead. Once you understand what these mean it begins to be much clearer as to how old an individual cognac really is.
So now we’re clear on that, let’s shed some light on the official cognac age categories and all the different types of cognac, of which there are a lot nowadays.
Order All types Of Cognac from our Online Store
VS: Aged 2 Year
Suitable for Cocktails, Mixed Drinks & Cooking
VS Cognac stands for “Very Special” Cognac. A VS Cognac must be aged for a minimum of two years. It is also referred to as ‘Sélection’, ‘De Luxe’ or simply ***. If you see three stars on a cognac bottle, it means it is in the VS age category. This means that the youngest eau-de-vie that was used to create the blend was aged in oak barrels for at least two years.
The aging process sees the liquid taking on the color of wood, but as it’s only for a relatively short amount of time the eau-de-vie end up a light straw yellow/amber color. It may be a little punchy on the palate with a youthful fire, but a young cognac can boast lovely fruity aromas.
VSOP Cognac
VSOP: Aged 4 Years +
Suitable for Cocktails, On Ice & Cooking
To classify as a VSOP Cognac, the youngest eau-de-vie in the blend must be at least four years old. As in any other age category, this does not prevent the master blender from using much older eaux-de-vie in order to achieve the perfect harmony for the final cognac blend. As a result, the average age of a VSOP is often much older than the minimum requirement of four years.
XO Cognac
XO: Aged 10 Years +
Suitable on ice, neat & paired with food
“XO” was coined by Cognac Hennessy and first used in 1870. Even though the youngest blend in an XO Cognac can be as young as ten years, a XO usually has an average age of between 15 and 20 years, sometimes older. So how old is a Cognac XO officially? As of 2018, the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) increased the minimum XO cognac age for the youngest eau-de-vie from six to ten years, in an effort to improve the quality of the spirit across the board.
XXO Cognac
XXO: Aged 14 Year
Suitable on ice, neat & paired with food
XXO stands for ‘extra extra old’, and is a relatively new category that was officially added to the description of cognac ages in 2018. Just as with the other age descriptions of cognac, VS, VSOP and XO, an XXO Cognac consists of eau-de-vie that’s been aged within French oak barrels. But in the case of an XXO, the minimum length of aging to qualify is 14 years. This makes an XXO cognac the oldest official rating a cognac can hold.
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