I got invited to a Remy Martin Cognac and Diamond Crown Maximus event last night. It was my first time to taste cognac, so I thought I would share my thoughts on it.
They had the V.S.O.P., the 1738, and the XO available to sample. I started at the bottom and went up the line. I found the flavor profile very similar to a sweet speyside scotch. The VSOP was good, although it could use some smoothing out of the flavors. The 1738 was my favorite of the lot as it smoothed out the VSOP quite well, but wasn't so smooth that you couldn't catch the flavors. I enjoyed the XO, but I didn't notice a huge difference from the 1738, and certainly not enough to warrant the price difference.
Although I did enjoy the spirit, I was fighting the sticker shock. The thing that I didn't understand was that a bottle of McLelland's Speyside Scotch has a very similar flavor profile at a fraction of the price. Maybe it's been too long since I had the scotch, but that's what it instantly reminded me of, and the price difference was astonishing. I picked up the bottle of scotch for about $25, and the XO goes for $200 a bottle. Not worth it for me, but YMMV.
D
They had the V.S.O.P., the 1738, and the XO available to sample. I started at the bottom and went up the line. I found the flavor profile very similar to a sweet speyside scotch. The VSOP was good, although it could use some smoothing out of the flavors. The 1738 was my favorite of the lot as it smoothed out the VSOP quite well, but wasn't so smooth that you couldn't catch the flavors. I enjoyed the XO, but I didn't notice a huge difference from the 1738, and certainly not enough to warrant the price difference.
Although I did enjoy the spirit, I was fighting the sticker shock. The thing that I didn't understand was that a bottle of McLelland's Speyside Scotch has a very similar flavor profile at a fraction of the price. Maybe it's been too long since I had the scotch, but that's what it instantly reminded me of, and the price difference was astonishing. I picked up the bottle of scotch for about $25, and the XO goes for $200 a bottle. Not worth it for me, but YMMV.
D
