3 brandies

I am a big fan of liquor, brandies in particular, but I don’t have the sense for a particularly verbose review. (I think there’s a certain pretention involved in most liquor reviews, because honestly, you either like it or you don’t – describing it beyond that is a little difficult, but maybe that’s just me. I certainly can’t do it, in any event)

Anyways, here’s 3 very brief reviews:

P. Grassa Fille & Fils Bas Armagnac

This is an armagnac, which is probably my favorite brandy. I am not even entirely sure who makes it, but you can get it at the liquor store by the Belle Meade Kroger. It’s a Chateau du Tariquet armagnac, imported I guess by P. GRASSA Fille & Fils. Actually, it’s imported by Robert Kacher, so I have no idea what “P. Grassa Fille & Fils” is. The distributor? Their A&R rep? I don’t know.This is what the New York Times had to say about it:

Château du Tariquet VSOP, P. Grassa Fille & Fils; $37.

A rusty-orange-colored Armagnac. The nose changes a lot as you drink it, skipping from fresh aromas of raspberries and coconut to brown butter and caramel. It’s smooth, round and makes your mouth tingle.

Here’s what I say: Mmmmm. I also like the plain unadorned bottle with the white label. No stupid frills. Just booze.

Larressingle VSOP Armagnac

Also, an armagnac, but not so great. It has a weird rubbing-alcohol finish. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Cool wax stamp on the bottle, though.. If you’re into that sort of thing. Otherwise overpriced and underwhelming.

E&J VSOP

This stuff is cheap, but amazingly good for the price, if you ask me. There are a lot of cheap cognacs that don’t even compete. This stuff makes Hennessey taste like crap by comparison; not that that’s saying much. Good stuff if you’re on a budget, or even if you’re not.