Old Master Spirits 51-year old Cognac Review!

Something new for Peated Perfection - my first cognac review! But we're setting the bar quite high with a forthcoming 51-year old cognac from 1970, followed by a sold out 36-year old cognac from 1984! 

Cognac! I've tried some of the standard, entry-level big brands, and also some older, but heavily-coloured and artificially flavoured spirits (more on that later) that have left me wondering what all the fuss is about. But when it comes to properly & naturally presented, quality cognac, armagnac or brandy, I've only had two encounters to date. But I enjoyed those, and now I'm about to dive much deeper with two new cognac experiences, thanks to a newcomer in the Australian spirits industry - Old Master Spirits. Old Master Spirits is a new importer and independent bottler based in Melbourne that is focussed on importing quality cognac, whisky & rum, and is run by two hardcore whisky & spirits lovers; Deni Kay and his brother in law David. Their first batch of releases arrived in late 2021, consisting of a 63-year old single cask cognac, a 36-year old single cask cognac, and a Spanish PX sherry that had been used to season both an American oak ex-bourbon cask and a European oak ex-port cask prior to bottling. That first release is entirely sold out of course, in fact it sold out completely in around 5-minutes, but the second batch of releases is not far away! Due to arrive in the first week of May (2022), Old Master Spirits is bringing us another single cask cognac, this time a 51-year old. And it's this 51-year old that we're looking at in this review, followed by a little teaser of the 36-year old cognac from the first batch of releases, just for posterity's sake! 

First, a quick rundown on cognac. In the very, very simplest of terms, cognac is a brandy (fruit spirit) or eau-de-vie that is distilled from grapes which can only be made in the Cognac appellation (region) in south-western France. The Cognac region is an "appellation d'origine controlee" or AOC, a legally protected production region, and it has held this status since 1909. Much like the similar protected status of champagne, sherry, and port, brandy made outside of this region cannot be sold as cognac. Essentially, all cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is cognac. Cognac can only be made from a small number of white grape varieties, mostly the Ugni Blanc variety, which after a fermentation period of 2-3 weeks produces a dry & highly acidic white wine that is not suitable for consumption. The wine must then be double-distilled in copper pot stills, and the resulting spirit must be aged in French oak barrels for a minimum of two years before it can legally be labelled as cognac. Diving a little deeper, distillation takes place in Alembic stills, also referred to as brandy stills, which are often direct-fired over a gas flame, with onion-shaped heads and very narrow necks for high reflux, then running into worm tub condensers. Slight digression here - Sullivan's Cove actually make their Tasmanian single malt whisky in a brandy still, including a worm tub condenser which is a very rare thing in the Australian whisky industry, more so since Lark replaced theirs with a modern shell & tube condenser. 

The "brandy still" / Alembic still at Sullivan's Cove

Most new spirit / eau de vie ("water of life") is initially matured in 300-350-litre casks, and if ageing for long periods it is then transferred into older 500-litre casks that are often on their third- or fourth-fill. Which brings us to a few interesting points of discussion. The vast majority of cognac is blended, with each brand often combining spirits from hundreds of different vineyards taken from some or all of the six different growing areas of the region that are known as "Crus" ("growths" in English) - the most highly lauded Cru is "Grande Champagne" region, which is not related to the sparkling wine of the same name. There are around 270 different cognac producers, known as cognac houses, in the AOC, and it's very common for larger companies to trade casks between producers and between companies in order to keep their blended product as consistent as possible. So finding an unblended Cognac from one producer, let alone a single cask bottling like these two examples, is a very rare thing, and it's really only the territory of independent bottlers - much like it was in whisky in the past. Interestingly, provided the spirit met that legal minimum of two years maturation in French oak, cognac can be transferred to inert glass vessels known as demijohns to continue ageing without any further input from wood, and to essentially store the spirit until it's ready for bottling or blending. These inert vessels also prevent the alcohol evaporating and thus avoids the strength dropping below the minimum ABV of 40%. Old Master Spirits' cognacs have not been stored in glass vessels as part of their maturation, they were taken straight from the wood - so unlike many cognacs out there, their age statements do reflect the actual amount of time that they spent in casks, rather than their total storage time regardless of the type of vessel. 

Unfortunately, there's also a darker side (pun not intended) to the cognac industry that we need to discuss: additives. In Scotch whisky, as we know, plain caramel colouring is the only permitted additive. But in cognac, producers can add not only caramel colouring, but also sugar, and a wood extract known as "boise" which is made from boiling wood chips and reducing the liquid down over heat. The vast majority of commercially produced cognac on the market contains all three of these permitted additives, including even the older, mega-expensive "luxury" cognacs made by the biggest names in the industry. And yes, most cognacs are also chill filtered for the same aesthetic reasons as the whiskies that are put through this unnecessary step in the bottling process. The two cognacs from Old Master Spirits that we're looking at today do not contain any of these additives - no added colour, sugar, or wood flavouring - and they are non-chill filtered. These cognacs are bottled "au naturel", just as any spirits aficionado would want them! 

On to the reviews! First up, the upcoming 51-year old cognac that is landing soon as Old Master Spirit's second release. Now, I know what you're thinking. A 51-year old single cask cognac must be prohibitively expensive, right? I mean, that's over half a century of maturation, and a similarly aged single malt whisky sells for tens of thousands of dollars - for example, Glenfiddich 50-year old is circa AUD$40,000! Well, cognac is a very different thing, and it doesn't tend to suffer from the same levels of "exclusive" and "luxury" marketing angles as whisky does at these advanced ages, nor the huge profit margins and high demand that go along with those angles. This 51-year old single cask cognac, distilled in 1970, is going to retail for just $365 AUD in a 500ml bottle. That bottle size is a more common practice in cognac, and isn't an issue if you ask me since it allows more people to purchase a bottle, and at a lower price. Even with that bottle size taken into account, aiming the same funds at malt whisky would get you as little as the likes of an 18-year old Macallan (at 43%) or the latest batch of 19-year old Ardbeg. Old, quality cognac certainly looks to be something of a bargain! 

This 51-year old - denoted on the label by the A.51, as in age - Old Master Spirits cognac was distilled in 1970 - denoted on the label by the V.70, as in vintage - by Mr. Jean Michel Tribot at Maison Tribot, the cognac house that has been skilfully illustrated on the bottle's label. Maison Tribot is located in the Grande Champagne Cru, considered to be the premier Cru in the Cognac appellation, the best of the best. This single cask cognac was sourced by Domaine Pasquet for Old Master Spirits, after spending a whopping 51-years of maturation in a French oak cask, and it was the oldest cask in the Tribot family's traditional stone-walled cellar. This cognac has been slowly reduced from cask strength over a period of months to the Old Master team's desired strength of 50.3% ABV, and as mentioned above it is non-chill filtered, natural colour, and additive free. This 51-year old cognac will be released in the first week of May 2022, and subscribers to Old Master's mailing list will get early access - sign up here. There are only 120 bottles available, so don't delay. Let's see how it tastes!

Colour: Amber gold. 

Nose: Immediately smells mature. Not quite "old" as in tired, boring or one dimensional though, but rounded and mellow, relaxed and inviting. It's lively though with dried & fresh stone fruit - I'd say fresh peach and dried apricot, maybe a touch of nectarine. Pineapple in behind that too. Dried herbs and a touch of mint, soft wood spices, roasted nuts with some brown sugar. Soft old leather comes out with more time. 

Texture: Medium weight. Lightly spicy & softly oaky. No heat whatsoever.

Taste: Stone fruit again, but more tropical fruit here. Pineapple, touch of white grape. Strong dark tea without milk (lightly bitter). Touch of charred wood and more brown sugar. Dried herbs coming through leading into the finish. 

Finish: Medium length. Earthy & spicy (wood spices), touch of cured meats and more roasted nuts. Lightly astringent with ground ginger and cinnamon spice warmth. Touch of mild (light roast) coffee grounds and creamy milk chocolate in the background. 

Score: 4 out of 5 (bearing in mind my limited cognac/brandy experience). 

Notes: Lovely soft, mature & rounded spirit with a lively, bright fruitiness that belies its age, and a nicely balanced wood influence with only milder tannins - e.g. those tea and coffee ground notes. I would not have guessed it had spent a whopping 51-years in French oak - which is handled with care in whisky circles for its spicy, tannic assertiveness - and clearly the wood influence has been carefully managed over that massive period of time. No doubt helped by that dark & cool stone cellar that this cask slumbered in for over half a century. Certainly not as sweet as I was expecting either, which is a good thing! That's no doubt helped by the natural presentation in this Old Master Spirits bottling, with no added sugar, colouring or wood flavouring. 

Those bright tropical fruit notes were a surprise also, and that's not something I remember finding in any of the cognac or brandy that I've tasted previously. I'd assume that's coming from a combination of the (very) advanced age and the careful management of the wood - much like in whisky, it seems that refill casks are often where the magic happens! This 51-year old is by far the finest cognac or brandy that I've ever come across, and it was a real treat. Don't miss this one when it lands! 

With that, on to cognac number two! This sample is from Old Master's first batch of releases, and is completely sold out. This is a 36-year old single cask cognac that just happened to be distilled in my "birth year", which is not something that happens every day! This 36-year old was distilled in 1984 -  again denoted on the label by the V. and A. figures, for vintage and age - by Mr. Claude Hillare in the Grande Champagne Cru in the Cognac appellation, and it was bottled in March 2021 at its natural cask strength of 53.8% ABV. Again, this cognac has been fully matured in French oak prior to bottling, no glass demijohns, and it is non-chill filtered, natural colour and additive free. So significantly younger than the forthcoming 51-year old, but 36-years of maturation is still very, very old for any aged spirit. This should make for a great comparison!

Colour: Copper. 

Nose: Richer & bolder. Fresh cinnamon scrolls / buns with butter icing, strawberry syrup and dark tea leaves. Touch of dried orange peel and leather. Raspberry bubble gum around the edges, but without the artificial sweetness. Floral & minty further in as well. 

Texture: Medium weight. Buttery & warm, richer, more oaky & spicy. No heat again. 

Taste: Strawberry gum, dark tea leaves, spearmint. Baked sweet bananas with a touch of brown sugar (almost banoffee). Oak spices, more fresh cinnamon buns / scrolls. Dried orange peel & leather again. Spearmint again around the edges heading into the finish. 

Finish: Long length. Touch of bitter herbs and more strawberry gum, strong dark tea and leather. Orange peel again but it's sweeter this time. Buttery cinnamon scrolls/buns again but with a few currants thrown in.

Notes: 3.5 out of 5 (again, bearing in mind my limited cognac & brandy experience). 

Overall Notes: Deeper, richer and more "up-front" than the 51-year old, this one jumps straight out of the glass in comparison. There's more wood influence and less complexity, and less balance. Bear in mind though that I've just recently tasted a 51-year old cognac, so this 36-year old had some big shoes to fill! Prior to this review I had expected to prefer this younger example, since I often prefer younger spirits for their vibrancy - not that it's a spring chicken at 36-years of age, and I should know seeing that it was distilled in my birth year! But that's proven not to be the case, although that's more of a credit to the previous 51-year old cognac rather than a critique of this 36-year old. 

Thanks to Deni & David from Old Master Sprits for the samples for these reviews, and for bringing these tasty cognacs to Australia at very reasonable prices. I also have to add that the level of professional communication and the passion shown by Deni is something that many large corporations should be striving for!

Cheers!