Cognac Gets Back In The Game

The world’s leading brandy makers are attracting new customers by stealing ideas from an old rival — whisky...

- G. Clay Whittaker

Cognac is gunning for its turn in the spotlight, but first it has a reigning champion to unseat. Whisky has dominated the luxury spirits world for a decade with long-aged products and experimental offerings. But the iconic producers of French brandy are starting to replicate whisky’s success by changing their way of doing business.

In the world of aged spirits, cognac remains somewhat of a mystery. While whisky makers regularly print age statements and explain cask finishes, most bottles of cognac, which is a specific type of brandy, are packaged with little more than a couple of letters from the cryptic “VS, VSOP, XO” grading system.