Which cognac house to visit in Cognac?
 

Hi all,

We will be driving from southern Brittany to Bordeaux next July and I would like to make a little detour to Cognac to visit a cognac house. We will be travelling with our teen girls. DH is not particularly into wine or spirits so I hope to visit one house that might be interesting to visit even if not into cognac. (I'm usually allowed one stop per trip - we did one calvados producer in Normandy and one winery in Burgundy on a previous trip!). The Hennessy one looks neat because it involves a short boat ride which sounds scenic. But the Hine house looks nice too (and free!). And Baron Otard is in a castle?

Any recommendations of a scenic house to visit (and a quick tasting for mom)? We probably won't want to spend more than 1-1.5 hours for the visit.

MERCI!

Bookmarking

We spent several hours in Cognac a few yours ago, and really enjoyed wandering around in the town. We visited the Cognac museum, which we enjoyed. We parked near the Hennessey house - but because it was closed for lunch, we did not visit it.


Stu Dudley

You might as well go for the original - Hennessy which has a wonderful tour.

Ther boat trip you mention is just a crossing of the river from the main tour centre to the storage areas, not a trip really. Hennessey is very good though, although the cost of the cognac in their shop is a bit eye watering compared to most retailers in the town.

Thanks, all.

Sounds like Hennessey is the tour to do then.

More years ago than I care to remember we did the Hennessy tour which was excellent - it must have been good if I still remember it nearly n years later!

Pick the one that has an English narration and is convenient for your time schedule. The distilling process is pretty much the same in every plant (ditto for brewery and winery) and the major action is only when the bottling line is running. Otherwise the product sits in dead-silent warehouses for years. I did two tours in one afternoon a long time ago and the second, in French, was only to get a free sample. I don't know if the proprietors are still that generous. It's a pretty town. Be sure to ask about the black smudges on the whitewashed foundations of some old buildings; it's a clue that someone has a barrel or two of his own aging in the basement. Although it looks like soot, the smudges are a fungus that lives on the alcohol fumes that escape open-pored oak barrels.

Hi all,

Thanks for the input. I also noted a number of producers for Pineau in the region (which sounds intriguing as it's made with cognac and grapes). I've never tasted it but I gather it is a known product of the Charentes region. It would actually be right on our route to stop at a producer of Pineau. Any thoughts on making a stop?

If you are going to be driving through the area, you will come across literally hundreds of opportunities to stop and taste a pineau. You can't swing a cat on the main routes through the region without seeing the signs.

You can purchase Pineau de Charentes at grocery stores in the region. They have it at my local grocery store near San Francisco. I keep 2 bottles in stock at all times. Just had some last night.


Stu Dudley