There’s a brand new Cognac available on the market, and it’s attempting very exhausting to attraction to a youthful era of brandy drinker. Regardless of the hipper strategy to a really previous drink, Martingale Cognac retains the pedigree of a heritage model. It’s the product of Guillaume and Amaury Thomas, fourth era Cognac-makers whose household distillery has been, till now, anonymously producing high quality eau-de-vie for unnamed shoppers for over 100 years. The Thomas household property consists of one of many largest vineyards in France’s Cognac area, spanning some 600 acres throughout the highest 4 crus. Brandies from every of these denominated areas are used to assemble Martingale, however actual proportions and ages are unspecified. The aim of all that mixing, in keeping with the Thomas duo, is to supply drinkers a wholly new class of Cognac someplace between VSOP and XO. Let’s test it out.
The straw gold coloration of this Cognac actually suggests one thing a lot youthful than XO, maybe even youthful than the VSOP requirement of 4 years. The aroma is vivid and youthful with an enormous, waxy bouquet of contemporary minimize white flowers laced with a thick be aware of vanilla extract, some poached pear, and a little bit of contemporary oak. There’s some spiritous volatility, nothing off-putting however a bit uncooked. It tempers to vanilla cookies and almond flour as issues open within the glass. On the palate, Martingale is clear and light-weight and surprisingly fruity with sugary notes of inexperienced apple and tinned pear that sweeten additional to inexperienced Jolly Ranchers and peach candies on the midpalate. These flavors don’t ship the type of depth you’d anticipate from an older Cognac, however their freshness is however spectacular and fascinating. The end is equally fruited with heat apple notes and gently spicy, seasoned oak, considerably resembling a younger Calvados. Martingale undoubtedly stands aside from different Cognacs, and whereas it’s a satisfying sipper by itself, I think about this one even higher suited to mixing.
80 proof.
B+ / $120 / martingalecognac.com [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR]
Martingale Cognac
$120
