Frapin Cigar Blend Grande Champagne Cognac

N: Nectarine, honey, flowers, red grapes, red apple, and maybe, sadly, just a hint of paint thinner. P: Vanilla, red wine, cinnamon candy, oak, splash of citrus, little butterscotch. Thin and watery mouthfeel. F: Earthy and floral, honey, cherry cough syrup, oak, cinnamon, some heat, red grapes, lingering tannic bitterness. I'm not hugely experienced with cognac - just exploring a little - but this was a disappointment, frankly. Single estate, minimum of 20 years in French oak, and relatively expensive, plus the promise of pairing well with cigars, all adds to fairly high expectations. Instead, this is thin on the mouth, shallow at the nose, and the finish leans more toward cough syrup than the more pleasant wine and honey notes. It is a long finish, but not a good one. As to the cigar pairings, I smoke a cigar nearly every day, have roughly 300 on hand, and paired this 3-4 times. It never really did anything special or memorable with the cigars for me. It's a far cry from even an average bourbon pairing. It's also far short of the Sherry and Port pairings I've tried with cigars. Might be my palate, might be my preferred cigars (which lean darker and at least medium strong), but this is a letdown. The oaky bitterness and thin mouthfeel just don't cut into the flavor of a darker cigar. It might pair better with a lighter smoke, but it didn't occur to me to try that until I started writing this, and, even if I had thought of it, it's not a terribly appealing prospect for me - not sure I would have bothered. But, for the regular Connecticut smoker out there, maybe this is worth a shot. ____________ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will provide a new one.)

Fruity and floral nose, vanilla, rancio, smoldering tabacco, figs, raisins, barrel spices on the semisweet and silky palate. There’s a slight bitter note in the lasting finish which I don’t care for, it just keeps building over sips. Otherwise, a really tasty Cognac.