Rémy Martin VSOP Cognac

Ah yes, a classic staple. I only got a half bottle of this, because I believe my standards will be higher than what this will provide, but I'm curious to see how that stands up. The color itself is dark, showcasing good and even long barrel aging, but the edges are very light due to the heavy watering down. Typical raisin and dried fruits found on the nose, with a slight earthy undertone. The oak is present, but there aren't really any prominent scent notes to pick it out with. The initial flavor is like a blast of fruit punch, but only for a split second, because the oak comes in to present more character. This is odd that the fruit flavor doesn't taste aged, and the barrel flavor is actually absorbed separately. Vanilla is a huge note found in the middle, also likely due to the oak used. The raisin note is present the whole way through, although not overpowering at any point. The finish is slightly hot, with the fruit flavors from before getting sweeter and sweeter, but like you sprinkled sugar on them instead of turned them into a jam. There might be something to the science of the blended ages here. I can tell that there is really nice oak and other barrel notes here (expected for using ~12 year batches), but really fresh fruit that hasn't succumbed to being jammy (this is where the ~4 year batches come in). It's no wonder that this is a flagship cognac; as cliché as it sounds, it can equally stand up to being used in more high-end cocktails, but also entice even a veteran taster when drank neat. It's been on my backlog for a while, so I don't remember the full or half bottle cost, but given that this is not unlike the "Jim Beam" of cognac, I'm pretty confident saying that the price definitely is worth picking up to keep around for bar uses of brandy.

As one of the larger cognac houses, this VSOP is one of the most popular cognacs out there. I never found this to be all that compelling and like their 1738 a lot more, but as a cocktail ingredient it holds up well. The nose has dried fruit and raisin notes. The palate is oaky, with a good amount of vanilla. The finish has a slight burn and spice, while disappearing pretty quickly. Remy Martin VSOP is very one note in my opinion. It doesn't offer much and there are far better cognacs out there to try neat such as Hine H, Pierre Ferrand Ambre, Pierre Ferrand 1840, Hine Rare, Remy Martin 1738 & Louis Royer 53 to name a few. As a cocktail ingredient I would give this a 2.5/3, but neat I would say it's closer to a 2.

Refreshingly, this brandy does not taste of cherry cough syrup. I'm a fan of citrus and the hints of orange that this delivers make me happy. This is a harsh drink and there isn't a ton of change in the flavor over time, but there is some stuff going on all at once. I appreciate the wood, but there is also some menthol that I am not a fan of. Overall, the main thing this cognac has going for it is that it avoids the standard problem of too much cherry flavor. The thing is though, you can get a cheap Scotch for around the same price and have none of these problems. It's a refreshing Brandy, but for refreshing, a tequila, gin, or tart cocktail would be a better choice. The flavor is just not that great. Would not recommend.

Review #5 - Brandy / Cognac #2 Nose - sweet, evidently fruity, with aromas of vanilla and oranges, but still with the faint smell of alcohol. Palate - significantly better than the nose, being smooth, and having aromas of dried fruit, vanilla, dark chocolate...being sweet and woody. Finish - medium-long, maybe towards the long side (also shown by the viscuous nature of the cognac), with oakiness, being dry, but maybe also with a slight bitterness to it. Wonderful cognac. Rating System: 5.0 - Perfect 4.5 - Exceptional 4.0 - Very Good 3.5 - Good 3.0 - Decent 2.5 - Average 2.0 - Below Average 1.5 - Barely Drinkable 1.0 - Undrinkable 0.5 - JB

Nose - grape, cherry, clove, allspice, vanilla, orange zest, nutty nougat, barrel spice, high ethanol burn. Taste - butterscotch, vanilla, orange zest, grape, cherry, almond, licorice, apricot, cocoa, toasted oak, clove, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing fairly fast with sweet fruit, caramel, and slightly tannic oak flavors. The flavors are reasonably nice, but the heat on the nose and palate is too much. At the price point, there are superior options such as the Pierre Ferrand 1840 or Ambre offerings. While not amazing, both are significantly better than this.

Fruity and Harsh: I have had a couple younger cognacs that taste like this one. it tastes exactly as a cognac should. I can taste the dark fruit upfront, but I get burning after that. The burning doesn't quite come entirely from barrel spice, its from the ethanol too. If you can afford it and still want Remy, try the 1738. otherwise I get a similar experience to the Claude Chatelier VSOP at half the price