Looks like I'll be in Cognac in December. I know all the houses won't be open in December, but does anyone have a favorite?

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Anyone?

We are interested in this town also. Does anyone have any information?

I can't claim to have a favorite, as I've only visited one, but it was great - Otard, located in the château where François I was born (Château de Cognac). According to the information I have, it's open in December except for Christmas Day.

Hennessey does a good tour and it's location (right in the middle of town) provides the most obvious choice.
When we went, we saw production etc and then crossed the river by boat to see the store houses (full of spiders!!!). It was amazing to see caskets over 100 years old that was not only still drinkable but VERY expensive.
If I remember rightly, Remi Martin is just down the road.

Thanks StCirq (as always ) and AR.

I was leaning towards Otard just because of the Francois 1st connection. But now I may need to reconsider and add Hennessey, though it might be chilly on the Charente river in December. Remy won't work because my guide book says it's closed in winter and it's out of town. I won't have a car.

I can tour one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Not a bad excuse for having a snort of cognac at 10:00am.

Hi, Indy. Sorry, can't help you with Cognac tours per se as we didn't take a tour during our visit this September

However, for what it's worth, we stayed at the Hotel François 1er which is situated on a principal square where many of the Houses have outlets. We had a front room with a great view of the square with the fountains and Frances 1 statue. It is an older, more "traditional" hotel, not new, ultra-modern. But we like that and it was reasonable, clean and the staff was extremely helpful. (for those with a car it has a locked garage)
They recommended a couple of restaurants and called to reserve a table for us.

The one we chose, La Boite A Sel, turned out to be one of the best of our trip, and probably THE best for value for your $$. If you tell them the hotel sent you, you get a complementary aperitif. We chose the menu du terroir for 38 euros, which highlites the local gourmet specialties. For some that may sound pricey, but it is all inclusive INCLUDING the wine. They served a Pineau with the fois gras, a white with the seafood and a red with the beef. They left the bottle at the table for you to look over, and added a little more if the dish outlasted the wine. That was a first, and we never came across this "wine to match the dish" menu again in our travels. Dommage, as it was great!

Hope you have agreat time!!