A whopping 63-year old single cask cognac from the independent brandy masters over at Old Master Spirits, and it's their oldest release to date!
A 1960 vintage single cask, bottled at cask strength with no additives, and with an age statement of 63-years. What would something like this cost in the whisky world? In most official bottlings you'd be looking at north of $20,000 AUD. Google shows an equivalent Glenfarclas is listed at $23,000 or a Glen Grant at $39,000 (good luck with that!), and a recent social media post showed a 60-year old Balvenie for $165,000. Which is utterly, utterly stupid and utterly, utterly tone deaf in this day & age. I'd proffer that in this economic climate not even the ridiculously wealthy will be comfortable spending that much on a single bottle of Scotch whisky. With any luck it'll never sell, I hope for the retailer's sake that it's on consignment! As usual the independent bottlers are going to be much more reasonable in this bracket, but stock of this age is obviously very scarce and you're going to have to pay for that scarcity. Think around $12-15,000 AUD at a minimum. So what do you do if you're a 1960 vintage yourself and you don't have Gordon Gecko wealth, but you quite like the idea of drinking a quality spirit that was distilled in the year you were, and is roughly as old as you are? Well once you look outside of whisky and head over towards brandy, you're in for a very pleasant surprise - if you play your cards right and stay away from the "luxury" brands. What if I told you that a 63-year old single cask of Grand Champagne Cognac, distilled in 1960 and bottled at cask strength with no additives or chill filtration, was available for under $400 AUD? But that's not all folks! How about $349 AUD? You'd struggle to find a 20-year old whisky for that sort of price on these shores. Age isn't everything of course, it's maturity and quality that matters. Of course it is. But an age statement like this is impossible to ignore. Even the most diehard spirit geeks will still go weak at the knees when presented with something like this!
This forthcoming release from Melbourne's Old Master Spirits is an absolute bargain when it comes to the age of this liquid. But more importantly, the quality is there to match those numbers and exceed your expectations - which is becoming a theme with anything bearing the Old Master Spirits label. That fairly non-descript building shown above and on this bottle's label is Maison Peyrot, the family home of five generations of Cognac producers that dates back to 1893. Cognac Peyrot is currently owned by Mathilde Peyrot, the fourth-generation descendant of the founder, and it has been under her domain since 1956. Her first year at the helm of distillation was the 1960 vintage, which includes this very cask! Peyrot is a 25-acre vineyard located around 1.5-hours north of Bordeaux in the south-west of France, in the Grand Champagne region of cognac production, the geographical crème de le crème of brandy producers. Cognac is a brandy produced in the Cognac region, which must be double-distilled in copper pot stills prior to being aged for at least two-years in French oak casks, and it must be bottled at a minimum of 40% ABV. The vast majority of cognac is blended from large numbers of barrels, often from different vintages and different producers, whereas this independent bottling from Old Master Spirits is a true single cask offering - one vintage, one producer, and one cask. Quite the rare thing in the brandy world, let alone one that is a whopping 63-years of age!
This 1960-vintage 63-year old Peyrot cognac was distilled from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes, and was entirely matured in French oak prior to being bottled in late 2023 at a cask strength of 42.9% ABV. As with all Old Master Spirits releases it has not been chill filtered and has had no colouring or wood flavouring (known as boise) added - you can read more here along with more info on cognac and brandy in general. Likewise this cognac has not had any time in glass vessels included in that age statement, the full 63-years of maturation was spent in French Limousin oak. This single cask cognac is being released on Old Master Spirits' website on the 20th of June 2024, and is limited to just 155 bottles. But let's see what is tastes like first, shall we?
Old Master Spirits 63-Year Old Peyrot Cognac, 42.9%. Cognac, France.
Distilled 1960 from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes, matured for 63-years in French oak. Bottled at cask strength with no chill filtration, and no adding colouring or flavouring. 155 bottles.
Colour: Polished wood.
Nose: Very fruity, sweet, and silky. Spiced pears with toffee sauce, oily furniture polish, sweet orange-scented candles. Touch of honey-roasted nuts, and heavily-sweetened black tea. Becomes more herbal & floral with more warmth and more time in the glass, plus a touch of Vietnamese coffee (with sweetened condensed milk)
Texture: Light-medium weight. Silky, balanced, elegant. No sign of alcohol whatsoever.
Taste: Runny honey, fudgy caramel slice with dark chocolate coating. Dried flowers (pot purri) with a few dried berries thrown in - cranberry & raspberry. Some tarragon, and drying wood spices heading in to the finish. Nutmeg and sandalwood.
Finish: Medium length. Sweet runny honey and fudgy caramel slice again, with the spicy & sweet oak coming through behind black cherries coated in dark chocolate. Nutmeg & tarragon return, along those dried flowers & dried berries. Touch of dried tea leaves with melted vanilla ice cream to finish.
Score: 4.5 out of 5.
Notes: Lovely elegant, balanced cognac with a wonderful silky texture. Extremely easy drinking but with plenty of complexity and a great balance of sweet & spicy, floral & oaky flavours. That whopping 63-years of maturation in French oak has clearly been expertly managed, the oak impact is very measured in comparison to a lot of spirits at a third of the age of this cognac! Yet another delicious brandy from the team at Old Master Spirits, and an absolute bargain for any spirit of this age - particularly one of this quality. This 1960 vintage cognac is highly recommended if you're looking for an affordable advanced (very advanced) age statement that drinks well above its price tag and is sure to impress any whisky drinker.
Thanks once again to Deni & David from Old Master Spirits for the sample for this review, and for their excellent work bringing quality brandies to a thirsty and eager crowd here in Australia.
Cheers!
