Spirit Type: Cognac

Country: France

ABV: 40%

Bottle size: 70cl

Description:

We've focused more on the ones produced by independent bottlers like SMWS and Cadenheads. One of the more well-known Cognac brands is Camus. Since it is wholly owned by a family, I still consider it to be a craft brand.

It isn't among the Big Four Cognacs (Hennessy, Martell, Remi Martin and Courvoisier). One of the top four Cognacs could be compared to Glenlivet for Scotch drinkers. This is due to how well spread each of these brands is; Camus is comparable to Springbank in this regard, mostly since both are well-known but not as readily available as the Big Four.

Jean-Baptiste Camus and a group of independent producers founded Camus in the Borderies district of Cognac in 1863. At that time, the group was known as "La Grande Marque." In the end, Jean-Baptiste bought out his partners to become the sole owner of the business.

The business was taken up by his two sons after his passing in 1894. While Gaston managed the export business, Edmond served as the cellar master. Gaston was quite successful. One of his achievements was receiving an order from Nicolas II, the last Tzar of Russia.

I'm met with some rancio right away. It is distinctive and appears to me as medium-intensity dried shiitake mushrooms. It has a faint but lingering scent of honey, a floral fragrance, juicy fresh peaches, Mandarin orange, and dried apricots. Shiitake mushrooms that have been dried and the final fragrances of mangoes and Fuji apples are on the "outskirts" of the aromas.

Not as strong as on the nose is the rancio. The floral notes are delicate but louder and more enduring, like honey, ripe fresh peaches, Mandarin oranges, Fuji apples, and dried apricots. Taiwanese pineapple cakes, hard candy flavored with cherries, and dried mangoes are all tasted briefly and subtly in the conclusion.

I enjoy this. No alcohol bite can be felt in the mouth or on the nose. There are no unpleasant tastes or sensations. This is a fruit and floral bomb whether it was distilled on the lees or not. Despite the abv, the flowery and fruitiness are quite powerful.

The nose starts out huge and bold but consistently loses height. The combination of this with the essential taming down of the rancio notes in the mouth seems to be brilliance. After all, the rancio taste will be foreign to most consumers. As a result, it will be undesired and probably considered a mistake.