Everyday cognac

We rarely drink cognac or armagnac at home but my wife has asked me to buy in a bottle of three star Remy Martin. It’s a bit of a nostalgia trip as we recently had the anniversary of her father’s passing and the Remy was his preferred tipple. Unfortunately nobody has it in stock at the moment so my instruction has been broadened to just buy a bottle of any brandy. So here is my question: what is a reliable and easy to source brandy that I can buy for south of three figures?

I’m not a big cognac drinker, so take with a grain of salt, but Remy Martin 1738 works for my palate and it is widely available for well south of three figures. I grabbed a liter at Costco for around $60.

AE Dor Napoleon for about $90 was so nice, I went and bought another the next day.

Dartigalongue XO is always tasty and around $50 if you can find it

I like the Laubade XO Armagnac at approx. $75, and Total Wine often has 10% off coupons (it is part of their “Spirits Direct” collection), not that I taste or compare extensively in the brandy department.

I keep tesseron 76 on hand that I’ve bought for ~80-85$ either on line or K&L

I prefer it to remy or martell vsop and xo

Tesseron is great. I have the whole set at home. I recently got a couple of the samplers from cognac expert which is a great way to try the 29 without breaking the bank or flying emirates first class.

I also like Laubade XO, but I think that brands me as a simpleton in groups like the Serious Brandy discussion group.

I was wondering whether either the Delord 25 or Chateau Briat Hors d’Age would be recommended. They are on wine.com under $80, a coupon brings them in under $60 (no shipping if you have stewardship).

You and me both, but I don’t think the SBDG swims in the two-digit end of the pool very often, either. [snort.gif]

I have my share of 3 digits wines, but sometimes I don’t need that much depth.

Also a big fan of the 1738 - it is what I keep stocked for cocktails. Nice find at Costco.

If you are thinking of the Tesseron, my favorite cognac in that price range is Dudognon Vielle Reserve .

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lol what decade did you buy that in? $140 is average price now for Lot 76. Lot 90 is around $80.

The Dudognon lineup is one of the best values on the market right now.

Decourtet XO is generally mid double digits. At least at Calvert Woodley in DC

I haven’t had the Heritage, have you? Sometimes, when I go up from high end to very high end (like Delamian Vespers to Tres Venerable), I prefer the high end better than the very high end (i.e. Vespers to Tres Venerable).

I have, it’s nice.

For cognac my favorite houses are normandin mercier, tesseron, Navarre, and pasquet, though.

If anyone hasn’t read “the smoke and the smell” and “boozehound” you’re missing out.

use wine searcher: https://www.spectrumwine.com/retail/winedetail.aspx?id=284696 ~ 87$, 3-5 offers under 100$

The last 2 bottles I got were in 2019/2020: K&L 76.99 and 78.99. I picked up Lot 53 duty free in 2017 for 135$
glad you got a laugh out of it