Some quality cognacs and other fine eaux-de-vie


February 8, 2026

A word of caution
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are done from the point of view of a malt whisky enthusiast who, what's more, is aboslutely not an expert in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or any other spirits. Thank you – and peace!

The sublime Etablissements Tiffon in Jarnac (Syndicat des Maisons de Cognac)

Some quality cognacs and other fine eaux-de-vie

…Since rum unfortunately missed its turn last Sunday! Right then, let’s start with our traditional little aperitif…

Gautier *** (40%, OB, Fine Cognac, +/-1985)

I believe that since then this three-star has become the ‘VS’. Gautier is a small but very old Cognac house that belongs to Marie Brizard. Those we tasted the last time, but that was eight years ago, had hardly impressed us, alas! Colour: full gold. Nose: very much on sultanas and all-flowers honey, with touches of caramel. It is not bad, but it is rather lacking in expression, beyond these very rounded notes. Mouth: not bad at all on the palate, with an almost vigorous arrival, unfortunately massive doses of caramel, natural or not, quickly invade the whole, offset by heather honey. Finish: quite long, but really, I insist, far too much on caramel for a modern palate. Comments: rather to be drunk over ice or as a fine à l'eau, diluted with water.
SGP:740 - 72 points.

Lhéraud ‘Lot 90 + 20 yo’ (49.4%, The Spirit Traveller, No.07, Petite Champagne, 1475 bottles, 2025)

100% ugni blanc, by the famous house Lhéraud, of which we have already tasted a few marvels. Here we have a vatting made half of a 20-year-old, and half of a 1990 vintage, 34 years of age. Colour: amber. Nose: another world, I dare say of course, even if we are also on a rather traditional profile, fairly jammy and honeyed, not devoid of raisins, but also showing fresh and floral aromatics, somewhere between viognier and gewurztraminer, before dried apricots and dried figs take control, accompanied by a little pipe tobacco, liquorice and earth. Mouth: it picks up where the nose left off, on earth and tobacco, even touches of oloroso, then it fires off the dried fruits, those figs, dried banana, dates, prunes and currants. Also a little dark nougat and touches of slivovitz, or old Souillac plum (vielle prune de Souillac). Finish: long, very ripe, rather jammy and leading towards blood orange, with light pepper and tobacco. Touch of molasses in the aftertaste. Comments: it is rather rich in the end, I find it excellent, but that was to be expected.
SGP:651 - 89 points.

Tiffon ‘Hors d’Âge The X-mas Unicorn’ (44.9%, Swell de Spirits, Borderies, Field Trip #08, 2026)

I believe, I am even sure, that here is our first cognac bottled in 2026. Colour: dark amber. Nose: understood. This is undoubtedly a rather old cognac, of exquisite finesse, on hazelnut cake, chestnut honey, apricot jam and pipe tobacco, the whole coated in melted dark chocolate, profiterole style. Traces of menthol. Sublime nose. Mouth: chocolates filled with fruit liqueur, raspberry, apricot, pear… I would almost like to stop there, but one must not exaggerate all the same, especially as black tea and peach leaf (tea) then come in to add a perfect structure, almost dry. Finish: incredible freshness, incredible firmness as well. Return of chocolate and fresh but very ripe fruits, especially vineyard peaches and apricots. Comments: this Borderies is monstrously good in my opinion, it is almost improper, all the more so as there are, I believe, only very few bottles.
SGP: 661 - 92 points.

Jean-Luc Pasquet ‘Lot 70’ (58.2%, The Whisky Blues, Grande Champagne, 219 bottles, 2025)

A house that has become a classic among malternative lovers, here in a version for our friends in Taiwan. Colour: deep gold. Nose: more firmness, I would almost say a wholesome rusticity that nearly evokes an old Domfrontais, with coffee, malt extract and raisins. Very beautiful and almost a little tricky. Positively tricky, naturally. With water: very fine oakiness, somewhere between Darjeeling and fruit-tree wood, with a few touches of mastic and Gravenstein apple eau-de-vie. Mouth (neat): forget those calvados stories, here we have a pure old Grande Champagne, but indeed very full-bodied. Candied citrus fruits, pepper and a little polished wood quickly take charge. With water: the candied fruits, especially the citrus, assert themselves and are accompanied by liquorice, mint, and a slight medicinal side, between eucalyptus and camphory touches. Finish: long, rather sharp, with a triumphant return of small apple and a few flinty touches. Comments: superb, nervy, almost imposing. Better let it breathe a little - us as well.
SGP:461 - 90 points.

Tree of Life ‘Lot n°46’ (49.5%, Whiskay, Fins Bois, 120 bottles, 2025)

A close cousin of Temps Retrouvé by Passion for Whisky. These immediate post-war years always carry a particular charm, which can also be found in, for example, the Médocs, especially the great Pauillacs, absolutely legendary (1945, 1947…) Colour: full gold. Nose: there is a certain firmness at first, in any case plenty of structure, a slightly austere elegance, roots and earth, yellow and white fruits, and above all an assortment of those small-berry eaux-de-vie that we like so much at WF HQ, rowan, wild service tree, elder, holly… In short, this is very, very classy. A few drops of sweet woodruff syrup come to relax the atmosphere a little after five minutes. Also wax. Mouth: this is perfect, taut, almost refreshing at this age, with apples and citrus fruits, then those roots and that earth. Gentian is really not far away. The same sweet woodruff syrup then comes to coat the whole. Finish: long, more austere again, with touches of propolis and other resins. Gentian is still there too, and the whole is simply brilliant, like the aforementioned cousin probably - we no longer have any to compare them, alas! More pine sap in the aftertaste. Comments: a true bouilleur de cru cognac, the very best of the countryside.
SGP:561 - 91 points.

What if we moved on to the pre-war period?, I mean WWII?

Vallein Tercinier ‘Grande Rue 34’ (42%, OB, bottled in 2014)

A small half-bottle that has a rather amusing story. We had it on a shelf, unopened, and I had always told myself that I had already tasted it, and that I had in fact adored it, while it was a bottling of +/-2012. Very, very great cognac! And then, while doing a bit of tidying up, I grabbed this wee bottle and, looking at the back label, I saw an extract of a rather disjointed tasting note… But it rang a bell. Of course, it was gobbledygook made at Whiskyfun. So I looked more closely and realised that it was another tirage, a little more recent, say two years later. In short, 2014 instead of 2012. For us, that was reason enough to open this second bottle, and so here it is in our glass! In such cases, any excuse is a good excuse, isn’t it. Colour: full gold. Nose: I swear I remember it. It is so perfect that it marks you indelibly. Incense, cedarwood, red tea, vegetable soup (leek, carrot, potato, chervil, parsley, bay leaf), very old Malaga PX, and then guavas and papayas, mango, beeswax, marijuana, shoe polish… In fact it never stops. We do, though. Mouth: incredible three-way duel between the wood, or rather the woods, the fruits and the herbs, with a wonderful dry side, somewhere between an old amontillado and an old Pu-erh. As we used to say, please call the anticognacporn brigade. And the drier it becomes, the more beautiful it gets, which is not all that common. Finish: very long given the low bottling strength (natural!) and completely oriented towards old Madeiras, Sherries or Marsalas, all as dry as a stick. We love that. Comments: 1934 was a great vintage, in wine too, particularly in Burgundy for that matter. Granted, we are far from Nuits-St-Georges or Beaune. We are not going to change our score compared to the previous outturn, but I promise you I was tempted to add one point, though that would have been misplaced affectation.
SGP:561 - 93 points.

Well, we won’t be pushing any further with the cognacs, even though we’ve just received some superb ones — sadly a little too late for this session. Instead, we’ll make the most of the occasion to taste two or three other fruit spirits, if you’re happy with that…

Huo Shao Yun (53%, Huangshan H&S Wine Estate, China, +/-2025)

Stop, wait, this is in fact a spirit made from assorted stone fruits, notably peaches, apricots and plums. I do not know whether they leave the stones in and in what proportions, whether they control prussic acid as some do when we distil, but anyway, let’s go since we are here. This is an aged spirit. Colour: full gold. Nose: what is interesting is that the fruits do not really stand out as such, at least not in their singularity, and that we are rather facing a spirit that is not so far from malt whisky, or rather from bourbon. Vanilla, milk chocolate, varnish, café latte, and just a little kirsch, whether there is cherry in the mix or not. With water: the plums come out. Mouth (neat): well it is good, even very good. A light sweet side at first, but this time the apricots do express themselves, on rather fine oak and always that bourbon-like side. Orange notes. With water: it swims like a champion and even if the wood shows more (cinnamon, nutmeg) this is compensated by the apricots. Finish: long, gentle but not too much so, and more marked by the fruits. Comments: well this is a true malternative. Excellent surprise, and it even holds its own after the grandiose VT 1934.
SGP:641 - 85 points.

Ferme 1719 2023 (71.3%, Authentic Spirits, Eau-de-vie de Grande Champagne, high-ester)

Ugni blanc from Cognac, straight from the still. Okay, we quickly draft our will, say our prayers, warn family and friends… and here we go! Colour: all white. Nose: it stings hard, but there does seem to be a lovely oily and fermentary side. But let us not push our luck any further… With (a ton of) water: I promise you that you feel as if you were on Marie-Galante. Mouth (neat, because we must, procedures you know): this is superb, it is just dangerous. Plenty of pear, of course, as in all ultra-young spirits bottled at natural strength. Okay, not vodka… With water: very oily, the pear is still there, but there are also lemon and olive, and even some saline notes. Finish: an olive mojito side, quite incredible. Comments: this is rather terrifying in its clarity and precision, but beware, you must be the emperor of the pipette to get through this fairly incredible eau-de-vie. Here, we love it, but we are afraid of nothing.
SGP:651 - 88 points.

Philippe Schaeffer 1982/2022 (49.3%, Authentic Spirits, Fine d’Alsace)

We love the work of Authentic Spirits, one must not forget that dealing with these distillates, especially in their less commercial versions (or not commercial at all to be honest), is to deal with the gods. Indeed. Here we have sylvaner, riesling and gewurztraminer, and we are in Epfig, in the Bas-Rhin. They make superb wines there (says this citizen of the Haut-Rhin). Colour: full gold. Nose: this baby is forty years old in total, wood + demijohn according to the picture on the label, and you can feel it, but there is no softness at all, on the contrary, we have travelled to Asia, with fermentary aromas, small fruits such as jujubes, but also manzanilla (I promise you) and vin jaune from Arbois. And walnut wine, what we call here nusswasser. Mouth: incredible lemony and fermentary side, natural wine (in 1982 one may doubt it), chalk, comté, green pepper, but also paraffin and, above all, plenty of bitter almond. We are not far from the craziest marcs of the nearby Jura. Finish: indeed, green walnut comes to impose itself, with a few touches of new plastic as well. Comments: this is very improbable, a real journey in your glass, not easy to follow but quite fascinating if you hang on a little. We find it a bit vulgar to assign a score to this kind of creation of nature, but anyway, that is what we do. Take this with a grain of sauerkraut/choucroute. I mean, a grain of salt.
SGP:362 - 85 points.

Zind Humbrecht 1996/2019 (62%, Amateur Spirits, eau-de-vie de vin)

A proper fine d’Alsace, 100% pinot noir, aged in cask for 23 years, half an hour on foot from WF Towers. Remember, a fine is distilled and aged wine, not marc. Right, Cognac is a fine too. Colour: full gold. Nose: this is praline, roasted peanuts, fudge, pistachio oil, sesame oil and various assorted foliage. With water: glue and kirsch come to the fore, with almost an American side, in any case bourbon. I know, I know… Mouth (neat): it is almost fresh, nervy, taut, varnished, packed with citrus peels, with touches of glue. But that could be the very high strength… With water : it rolls along on citrus fruits and small berries, even grapes, their pips, and even a very light brine, surprising but absolutely not out of place. Finish: long, very taut, almost tart, with again that fresh kirsch side. Lemon zests and small green apples come to nag you in the aftertaste. Comments: a kind of friendly anti-cognac side, with much more sharpness here. But we agree, the grape varieties have nothing to do with each other. Well done DZH and AS.
SGP:462 - 89 points.

Check the index of all Cognacs we've tasted