Drink of the Month - March 2012 - Hine VSOP Cognac

[Walter Sobchak]

Welcome to The B&B Speakeasy Drink of the Month for March 2012!



HINE VSOP Fine Champagne Cognac. This is the classic Hine.

The House of Hine has been operating in Jarnac, France since 1763 although it didn't take on the name of Hine until 1817. To this day Hine remains family owned. Their signature blend, VSOP Fine Champagne, is a blend of more than twenty five cognacs all of which come from the Grande and Petite Champagne regions. In other words, it's the good stuff.

Hine VSOP is widely available in the $55 to $60 price range. This is a beautifully crafted cognac for the price.

[stobes21]

Cool. I'll have to pick some up the next time I hit the good liquor store. For those of us who don't have cognac glasses how should we serve it? A big red wine glass perhaps?

[Walter Sobchak]

Yes, lots of people use wine goblets instead of snifters. Any ballooned or tulip glassware should do nicely.

Since having children and losing valuable cabinet space for my bar glasses, I use my scotch glasses to drink brandy/cognac.

[djh]

Yes, lots of people use wine goblets instead of snifters. Any ballooned or tulip glassware should do nicely.

Since having children and losing valuable cabinet space for my bar glasses, I use my scotch glasses to drink brandy/cognac.

Man, you gotta tell us more about that!

[Walter Sobchak]

Well, you know, since the rapscallions came on the scene five years ago the real estate in the cupboard that once held my stemware and snifters has been taken over by kiddie cups and little thermoses.

[xXClockwork]

Drinking cognac out of a Spiderman sippy cup? That's a man's man right there.

[thatsilverguy]

Hey Jonathan, not to reverse-hijack but what does Hine taste like? Most cognacs I have had taste alright but have a flowery finish.

Is this your scotch glass?

[Walter Sobchak]

Drinking cognac out of a Spiderman sippy cup? That's a man's man right there.

It's funny how priorities change with the arrival of offspring. I used to be so proper in serving and presentation, now all I really have time to care about is getting the dram from the bottle to my mouth in the most efficient manner short of swigging from the jug.

Hey Jonathan, not to reverse-hijack but what does Hine taste like? Most cognacs I have had taste alright but have a flowery finish. Is this your scotch glass?

Hello ThatSilverGuy.You're not hijacking at all. Anything about this DOTM or how to drink it is fair game.

Here are the official tasting notes and description from Hine:

First impression: delightful, perfumed notes.
Sensory journey: notes of jasmine, acacia, vanilla, oak and fruit. Delicate, well-balanced, mellow and smooth on the palate.
Blend: a Fine Champagne blend of over 25 cognacs. More than 50% are from grapes grown in the Grande Champagne and the remaining from the Petite Champagne, the 2 finest cognac crus.

I don't currently have a bottle of Hine as I only keep one Cognac/Brandy bottle in the rotation (I still have one bottle of Jepson Signature Reserve before it's gone forever). But I've enjoyed a couple drinks of Hine in the last year. The nose is surely flowery and fruity. In the mouth, I wouldn't go so far as to say I get jasmine and acacia (I don't even exactly what acacia would taste like). However, fruit, oak, and vanilla are definitely present and the finish is nice with dried fruit lingering.

I use malt tumblers that look like this:

[djh]

I've just poured myself a glass of this. In spite of it having been in my cabinet for quite a while, it was more to offer to guests than to drink myself as I am a whisky man.

Nose is vanilla and high wine notes to me. Quite oaky (not sure if this is particular to this style), some fruit and vanilla on the palate. I like the finish, but it is very different to what I am used to with my Islay whiskies.

Thanks for the idea!

[Laz]

It's funny how priorities change with the arrival of offspring. I used to be so proper in serving and presentation, now all I really have time to care about is getting the dram from the bottle to my mouth in the most efficient manner short of swigging from the jug.Hello ThatSilverGuy.You're not hijacking at all. Anything about this DOTM or how to drink it is fair game.

Here are the official tasting notes and description from Hine:

First impression: delightful, perfumed notes.
Sensory journey: notes of jasmine, acacia, vanilla, oak and fruit. Delicate, well-balanced, mellow and smooth on the palate.
Blend: a Fine Champagne blend of over 25 cognacs. More than 50% are from grapes grown in the Grande Champagne and the remaining from the Petite Champagne, the 2 finest cognac crus.

I don't currently have a bottle of Hine as I only keep one Cognac/Brandy bottle in the rotation (I still have one bottle of Jepson Signature Reserve before it's gone forever). But I've enjoyed a couple drinks of Hine in the last year. The nose is surely flowery and fruity. In the mouth, I wouldn't go so far as to say I get jasmine and acacia (I don't even exactly what acacia would taste like). However, fruit, oak, and vanilla are definitely present and the finish is nice with dried fruit lingering.

I use malt tumblers that look like this:

Nice looking tumblers.

[stobes21]

So when I went to the liquor store I found a bottle of "H by Hine" VSOP champagne cognac for about $35. Next to it was a tag for Hine rare VSOP champagne cognac for $55, but that particular bottle was sold out. Our spirit of the month is the Hine rare right? Could those of you in the know about these things tell me what the difference is?

[Walter Sobchak]

So when I went to the liquor store I found a bottle of "H by Hine" VSOP champagne cognac for about $35. Next to it was a tag for Hine rare VSOP champagne cognac for $55, but that particular bottle was sold out. Our spirit of the month is the Hine rare right? Could those of you in the know about these things tell me what the difference is?

Yes, this month's DOTM is the Rare VSOP Champagne. I'm sorry for the confusion. I don't think of "H" as VSOP, but I should have recognized the difference in the title post.

The difference between "H by Hine" and the Rare VSOP is that "H" is a younger and not as complex. I believe the stated age is 4 years (that would be the youngest in the blend) for "H" as opposed to 6 years in the Rare VSOP. Also, the blend is less complex in that "H" is a blend of 20 instead of 25 cognacs and contains a lower percentage of Grande Champagne Cru.

"Cru" essentially means growing region, which is based on soil characteristics. There are six crus in total. Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne, in that order, are considered the two finest.

If you decide to go with "H", let us know how you like it. "H" is a tasty and nicely priced cognac, IMO, and it's not a bad place to start if you're new to cognacs. The Rare Champagne VSOP is on another level, though, and it really packs a lot of value in that price range.

[Kazeryu]

On Sunday I went out for a haircut and then decided that I was going to keep driving around looking for this until I got it.

About eight or nine liquor stores later, I finally found it.



Anyways, the sweetness provides a very nice change of pace from my scotches. I'm very glad I bought it, even if it did take me a few hours to do so.

[Walter Sobchak]

Glad you found it and glad you like it.

Hopefully you like it enough to feel like it was deserving of the journey. It's pretty easy drinking stuff. Around here it's not usually available in the mom and pop stores, but I've seen it in the larger stores.

At least you can buy liquor on Sundays there. No bottled liquor is available for purchase in CT on Sunday.

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Yes, this month's DOTM is the Rare VSOP Champagne. I'm sorry for the confusion. I don't think of "H" as VSOP, but I should have recognized the difference in the title post.

The difference between "H by Hine" and the Rare VSOP is that "H" is a younger and not as complex. I believe the stated age is 4 years (that would be the youngest in the blend) for "H" as opposed to 6 years in the Rare VSOP. Also, the blend is less complex in that "H" is a blend of 20 instead of 25 cognacs and contains a lower percentage of Grande Champagne Cru.

"Cru" essentially means growing region, which is based on soil characteristics. There are six crus in total. Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne, in that order, are considered the two finest.

If you decide to go with "H", let us know how you like it. "H" is a tasty and nicely priced cognac, IMO, and it's not a bad place to start if you're new to cognacs. The Rare Champagne VSOP is on another level, though, and it really packs a lot of value in that price range.

Jonathan:
+ 1...I happen to really like H by Hine VSOP Cognac (did you know that this Cognac was Sir Winston Churchill's favorite?), and I like served either with cranapple juice or as a 'Sidecar' [triple sec & lemon juice], or just 'on the rocks').

I find this warm golden color Cognac full of flavor with soft tones of vanilla, honey, oak wood and spice that is very smooth, but kind of intense on the palate that leaves a long and sharp after-taste finish. 'Primo' is the word that comes to my mind.

"All Cognac’s are Brandy...but not all Brandy’s are Cognac". CBJ

[The Chandos]

Yes, lots of people use wine goblets instead of snifters. Any ballooned or tulip glassware should do nicely.

Since having children and losing valuable cabinet space for my bar glasses, I use my scotch glasses to drink brandy/cognac.

I know ALL about that! My entire collection of Belgian beer glasses and various whisky and brandy snifters is bubble wrapped, boxed, and stored in the garage. Instead, when I open the cabinet, yes, me too, there they are, an army of bottles, sippy cups, and various Spiderman, Cars, Toy Story, etc. cups. Unfortunately, I think when they are gone, we'll be using the space for additional pantry storage. Now that there are five mouths to feed instead of two, we're finding that we need more cabinet space and a larger refrigerator. Sigh...

But back on topic... according to some reviews I've read, some cognacs, notably H by Hine, are best taken with glasses with little to no ballooning as it increases the sharpness on the nose. In other words, I'd steer clear of typical brandy snifters and use a tulip shaped glass like the Glencairn glass or even a Belgian glass if you still have one in the cupboards. My brandy snifters (stashed now, unfortunately) are actually quite smaller than my Belgians, though, so it's not a tit for tat kind of trade off.

I think I'm off to get me some H by Hine for the first time. Besides being Wiston Churchill's favorite, the notes for it include carnation, iris and jasmine! And sounds like I'd like it better than Hine Rare VSOP or Remy Martin VSOP.

[Kazeryu]

For those of you suffering under the blight of sippie cups - couldn't you just keep one glass of the right shape in the liquor cabinet with your drinks? Sure, you'll have to wash it every time, but at least you won't be staring at spongebob squarepants while considering the drink's nose.

[The Chandos]

For those of you suffering under the blight of sippie cups - couldn't you just keep one glass of the right shape in the liquor cabinet with your drinks? Sure, you'll have to wash it every time, but at least you won't be staring at spongebob squarepants while considering the drink's nose.

Actually, I don't even have a place to keep the bottles of liquor so I've made space in the office the top shelf of a lawyer's bookshelf in the "office" we have and yes I have my one glass in there that I wash, dry, and put back after each use.

[Walter Sobchak]

For those of you suffering under the blight of sippie cups - couldn't you just keep one glass of the right shape in the liquor cabinet with your drinks? Sure, you'll have to wash it every time, but at least you won't be staring at spongebob squarepants while considering the drink's nose.

No room in the liquor cabinet for glassware. It's not like I have NO glassware, it's just that I had to make the compromise and pare down what I had. Now I don't have every conceivable glass like I once did. Malt glasses, Beckers, Old Fashions, and standard Pint glasses is enough for me to drink and properly enjoy anything that might pass my lips.