Christian Brothers VS Brandy

More of a whiskey/whisky specifically bourbon profile than brandy truthfully. But I get vanilla, brown sugar, maple, and oak, and on the nose but not really the palette this almost bubble gum note. Definitely most suited as a mixer and a budget one at that, but I have drank it neat and it's acceptable to my palette at least. It's also notably smoother than I expected at it's price point. Where I'm at as of the time of review, 375ml is roughly $5-6, a 750ml is $11, and 1.75L handles are around $24-25.

This is my first brandy, having it neat. Nose reminds me of boozy fruit juice, vanilla, hint of maple. Taste is, to me, reminiscent of wine with vanilla and brown sugar, maple toward the end, pretty slick and smooth. Not a wine drinker, but I'm enjoying it more with each sip. Simple, maybe too much ethanol, but it ain't bad at $19.99 for 1.75 litre.

Ok, I'm not gonna bash this, I promise, but I'm also not gonna praise this. I will say, if used for cooking, blending with eggnog or making mixed drinks, this is the bottle to use. Only because you can justify blending a 15 dollar brandy and not wasting a 25+ dollar calvados or brandy. So...drinking: no. Mixing: yes.

In this price range I prefer Paul Masson. Christian Brothers "VS" is drinkable, I'm not a cocktail guy but if you drink it right there is no burn, as with most liquor I find. The nose is sweet, but simple, goes down pretty smooth with hints of bourbon. If you on a budget and they outta Paul Masson, go for it.

Not the greatest brandy in the world, but good enough for a Wisconsin Old Fashioned. I make this with Cointreau and a spicy cherry—quite nice. I’ll try it with a better brandy one of these days but, not that bad!

For the price point this is a nice cheap liquor. It's a lot better than a lot of what you find. Tastes basically like whiskey but is pretty sippable. Don't buy this if you have money, do if you don't.