Cognac

Okay.

Cognac and Calvados before bottling at 96.4 proof.

This is the American single malt

they did all that to? They did this to all the American single malt.

I'm excited about the barrels that were used for this.

I had no idea.

And then I saw Brandy, Cognac, Calvados.

I'm almost getting, you know, I'm kidding.

Now, cognac had a wonderful period in China over the past...

Before the pandemic, the 20 years before the pandemic, as China entered the WTO in 2001, you started seeing growth of all these Western products.

Cognac had this incredible rise to the turn of the decade.

Then it went through Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign.

where a lot of products were used in corruption, whether that's business gifting or government gifting.

But they also found these vines, the vines in question that were soon to be identified as Merlot's mommy.

In four other villages in the Charente, and that is of the Cognac region, the Charente, also named for the Charente River, the locals called these vines Raison de la Madeleine, something to do with them ripening early around an annual French feast in late July celebrating Mary Magdalene.

The previously undiscovered vine was then named by Borsico and fellow researchers Magdalene Noire de Charente.

Oh, Now Merlot has a mommy.

It also has half-siblings, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Carbonaire, which was mistaken for Merlot for many years in Chile, as well as Cote, C-O-T, or what many of us know as Malbec.

Merlot does have a color mutation called Merlot Gris or Gray Merlot, but White Merlot or Merlot Blanc, that's a whole different grape.

which is a cross of Merlot and White Folle Blanche, which is one of the grapes you'll find in Cognac and Armagnac, which I mentioned way back in the Grape Brandy episode in Season 5.

I'll link it up for you.

Yeah.

What did he say? He calls her Cognac.

Alexa's like,

Queen.

Megan Thee Stallion.

all keep us on our toes.

Next, Basil Hayden Cognac Cask Reserve.

finishes the brand's high rye Kentucky bourbon in selected French oak casks that previously held cognac exclusively for 20 to 25 years.

The limited edition release remains at Basil Hayden's customary 80 proof and is the first expression intended to begin a broader exploration of internationally influenced finishes within the portfolio.

Basil Hayden Cognac Cask Reserve is is now available at select retailers for a suggested retail price of $50.

So a lot of people use Basil Hayden to help introduce people to bourbon, and I think that's a wonderful way to get into the bourbon world.

I'm glad to see they're expanding this into different, you know...

All right.

Very good.

I would argue that it's actually, it adds more than what we've seen Cognac and Armagnac finishes do, which is impressive considering that it's a, when I came into the industry, not something I was that familiar with, but I would say like these Pinot The charentaise and the rib salt certainly add more orchard fruit, which is more sort of what you're wanting as another layer of complexity to the flavor rather than cognacs and armagnacs.

You're maybe expecting lots of Battenberg cake because of the nature of what that is, but you rarely get that, I would say, in my experience anyway.

I think you're right there.