Recommended French Cognacs For Pesach

Recommended French Cognacs For Pesach

Introduction

So, it’s that time of year again with Pesach just around the corner. Your Whisky, being grain based, needs to be drunk or sold as Chometz Gamor through your local Orthodox Rabbi. So, I thought it would be a good idea to write about alternatives for Kosher Whisky lovers on Pesach.

As far as I know, there are actually only a very few options.

They are Kosher Brandy (Israeli and French, (non-grain based) Gin, Arak, Vodka and Mexican Tequila.

WARNING! However, one should always only purchase your alcohol for Pesach that comes with a Teudat Hechshir specifically for Pesach. Even if you think there should not be any Chometz issues, there are nevertheless, problems which you may not be aware of.

Why is Rum Not Kosher for Pesach?

I did a Google Search for alcohol spirits for Pesach and came across a number of articles, falsely claiming that Rum was kosher for Pesach even without a Hechshir for Pesach! Yes, it’s true that being Sugar Cane and not grain based, theoretically, it might be possible to make a Kosher LePesach Rum. However, in practice, all matured “Red” (and probably white rums as well), are Chometz Gamor! Why? Because they are all either stored or matured in Ex-Bourbon casks. These casks previously contained Bourbon Whiskey which is of course, grain based and therefore Chametz! [Source: OK Kashrus Organisation]

So, it seems that the only real alternative to Whisky on Pesach is Brandy or Cognac.

A Note on Kashrus Guidelines Used

Firstly, it is very important to know that you should check the Pesach status of any product very carefully, even in a so called “Kosher Wine store”!  For some strange reason, even wine stores which I have found are totally reliable when it comes to wine and other alcoholic beverages, when it comes however to fortified wines such as ports, sherries and brandies; I found that many of these bottles have no Kosher Certification whatsoever. This is especially so when it comes to expensive French Brandies and Cognacs.

Moreover, you must check every box because, for some inexplicable reason, there might be Non-Kosher versions of these brandies and cognacs sitting together on the same shelf as the kosher ones! So please make sure you check every bottle you pick up for the Teudat Hechsher for Pesach.

I kid you not! I have been in stores where some boxes (of the same brandy), sitting on the shelf, had no certification at all, some were Kosher but not for Pesach, and some were marked as Kosher for Pesach. You have been warned!

I decided to use the following Kashrus guidelines: That is, only to review those French Brandies and Cognacs with Kasher LePesach certification from Kashrus organisations who are members of AKO (Association of Kashrus Organisations).1 (see note at end).

You will find a complete list of all members here:

https://www.akokosher.org/members

Note that Triangle-K and Chatam Sofer Bnei Brak are not on this list.

Consequently, even though from my research, I have found that actually, the majority of Cognacs being sold as Kasher LePesach in Israeli wine stores have the Chatam Sofer Bnei Brak certification, I unfortunately cannot include these brands in my list of recommended Cognacs for Pesach. 2 (see note at end).

Good Advice

In my opinion, it is good advice that when it comes to the kashrus of wine and brandy, especially for Pesach, not to rely on any hechshir which you would not regularly rely on for common food and drink items, such as whisky, soup mix, confectionary or cakes throughout the rest of the year. I must emphasise again however, that this is my own personal standards, based upon advice from Rabbanim who I trust. As always, you should follow the guidelines of your LROR, (local reliable Orthodox Rabbi).

So, after weeks of research, here is a list of Brandies and Cognacs which I found met my Kasher LePesach criteria and are widely available in wine stores all over Israel:

Kosher LePesach Brandy List

Brand	Grade	Kashrus Certification	Volume	ABV	Price in Shekels
French Cognacs
Louis Royer	VS	OU-P	70cl	40%	160-180
Louis Royer	VSOP	OU-P	70cl	40%	210-250
Louis Royer	XO	OU-P	70cl	40%	600-650
Dupuy	VS	OU-P	70cl	40%	150
Dupuy	VSOP	OU-P	70cl	40%	220
Dupuy	XO	OU-P	70cl	40%	500
Courvoisier (3)	XO	OK-P	70cl	40%	550
Israeli French Style Brandies
Julius Pomme de Galilee	Vintage	Local Hechshir (4)	70cl	51.5%	370
Julius VIII Single Barrel	8 YO	Local Hechshir	70cl	41.5%	380-400
Jonathan Tishbi Alembic	10 YO	OU-P	70cl	?	650

What is Brandy?

Twice distilled in copper pot stills, from fermented wine made from predominantly Ugni Blanc grapes. This produces a new-make-spirit called eaux-de-vie (new distilled wine).

To be called brandy, the eaux-de-vie must be aged for at least two years in oak casks made from French Limousin or French Tronçais oak.

What is Cognac?

Must be Brandy produced in the surrounding wine-growing region of the Charente and Charente-Maritime areas.

Brandy Age Statements

or “Grades” as they are called.

According to the “Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac” (BNIC) and Official French Regulations of AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée) Cognac:

The official quality grades of cognac are:

VS           “Very Special”    *** (Three Stars) where the youngest brandy in the blend must have been matured in Limousin oak casks for at least 2 years old.

VSOP     “Very Superior Old Pale” ***** (Five Stars) where the youngest brandy in the blend must have been matured in oak casks for at least 4 years old.

Napoleon/Très Vieux    (From 2018). This grade must have matured for at least six years. (This used to be the definition of XO prior to 2018).

XO          “Extra Old”          which used to be known as “Napoleon”. There is a lot of confusion here due to a change in the regulations. The youngest brandy in the blend (up until 2018), had to be at least 6 years old. From 2018, the regulations for French Brandy was raised to at least 10 years of maturation in the cask.

Hors d'âge          "beyond age" is a term used for the very top premium Cognac expressions. Officially the age has to be at least that of XO (10 Years), but in practice it can be a lot older. Having said this, there are XO brandies on the market which are 30 years or more, yet the term Hors d'âge is not used.

XXO (new 2019) “Extra-Extra Old” where the maturation is at least 14 Years.

[Source: Official French Regulations of AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée) Cognac]

By the way, you may have wondered, especially considering the French's usual obsessive insistence on using only the French language for its products and services, the French Brandy grades are in English! This is historical as the British controlled the international Brandy trade in the 18^th century and they established these now universally adopted grades.

Age Statements

Similar to Single Malt Whisky, age statements almost always mean a higher price but do not necessarily guarantee better quality. There are plenty of VSOPs which are superb and XOs which I personally found very disappointing, especially bearing in mind that the XOs very often cost over twice as much as the VSOPs from the same distillery.

The Glass to use

The traditional way to drink cognac and brandy is from French Brandy Snifter glasses. However, any wide tulip style bulb glass that narrows as it reaches the top in order to concentrate all those aromas, will do. Example, a large professional red wine glass or even a Glencairn Whisky glass, although you may raise a few eye browse over Pesach.

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Reviews

Dupuy VS

This was drinkable but I found it had a bit of a spirit-alcohol nip as well as being a bit rough round the edges.

Dupuy VSOP

Not bad at all. Orange mint chocolate like “After Eights”. Big bold aromas and flavours of vanilla ice cream. Sweet Polished Wood. Slightly herbally on the finish. Good value for money.  Recommended.

Dupuy XO

Considering that this is more than twice the price of the VSOP, I was expecting much more from this. I found the mouth feel lacking weight. Aroma was also a bit thin. It tastes pleasant enough with a similar flavour profile to the VSOP, but definitely not worth the premium price. I much preferred the VSOP version. Don't waste your money on this one.

Louis Royer VS

For a young and cheap VS, this is pretty good stuff. If you are on a really tight budget, then this is the one to get. Lovely brandy warming aromas of caramel toffee spirit, oranges, prunes and raisins. The flavours arrive all at once, making it a bit one dimensional. Nevertheless, it is well balanced and rather tasty.

Not much aftertaste though. Recommended for easy drinking, rather like a descent Blended whisky such as Grants or Johnny Walker. Recommended.

Louis Royer VSOP

For the price, this represents excellent value for money and, in my opinion, gives you a more satisfying “dram” experience than some XOs costing more than twice as much.

Aromas of orange blossom, orange jam, caramel fudge, honey, strawberries, apricots and sweet Polished Wood.

On the palate, Glazed Oranges with a hint of chocolate, Strawberry jam. Plump Black Raisins, Apple and apricot Strudel, with walnuts, caramel and wood spices on the finish. This is very moreish. As soon as your glass is empty, you are tempted to pour just a little bit more.

You will hear many so called Cognac aficionados on YouTube who will tell you not even to look at anything below XO grade. However, in my opinion, despite lacking a bit of complexity, this VSOP is so delicious, it is probably a better option to buy two bottles of this VSOP which will last you the whole of Pesach, rather than one bottle of XO, which will cost you about the same amount. It's that good!  Highly Recommended.

Louis Royer XO

After thoroughly enjoying the VSOP, this XO is exactly what you would expect from the Louis Royer brand. The same deliciously round, full flavour profile but with much more complexity. Take your time with this one. It is sure to impress you. It is soft and so well balanced, yet revealing multiple layers of flavours.

Its aroma is a pure delight with a really luxurious limousine polished wood, floral and red grapes, orange jam, pastries, walnut whip and honey on the nose.

It has a lovely rich syrupy mouth feel to it. Dark Chocolate Glazed Caramel Orange. Sumptuous Raspberry jam. Plump Raisins, Sweet pastries. Stewed Apples, Caramelised Sugar Cream desert (Crème Brule), with kitchen spices, caramelised walnuts and peanuts on the long finish. Highly Recommended if money is not an issue for you.

Courvoisier XO Pronounced “Ker-Voselerr"

Note: Please be aware that there are two versions of the same Courvoisier XO! One in a red box with a local Paris kosher certification plus Chatam Sofer Bnei Brak. The other comes in a bright gold box with a Teudat hechshir from the OK-P. It is the gold box version which I am reviewing.

In the Glass:

High Viscosity. It slowly swirls around in the glass beautifully. Looking at the colour, I must assume that this contains a degree of artificial colour though.

On the Nose:

A slight sweet wood smoke with Caramelised Sugar Cream desert (Crème Brule), Red Furniture Leather, Polished Mahogany wood, Glazed Oranges. Behind all this, dry Dutch Cocoa powder, Walnuts and Brazil nuts.

Taste:

Rich dark Chocolate, natural farm heather honey, Orange Marmalade, glazed cherries, soft leather sweetness, caramelised vanilla cream, kitchen spices, (nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves) and varnished polished oak, walnut whip, dried nuts and cocoa powder on the long finish.

Highly Recommended!

This is as close to a high quality Single Malt experience as you can get on Pesach, (but like everything else on Pesach, at twice the price!).

Chag Sameiyach VeKasher! LeChayim!

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Notes

1. In addition to AKO members, had I come across brandies with certification from Israeli Kashrus Organisations which I personally trust, such as BADATZ Agudas Yisrael, BADATZ Eida HaChareidis, Machzichei Hadas Belz, Rav Y.L. Landou Bnei Brak (as well as some others), then I would have included them as well.

2. Cognacs which I had to exclude from my list, include the Codet, Roland Bru and Grand Empereur brands.

3. Courvoisier. Only in a bright Gold Box. (Not the Red box).

This has certification by OU but not for Pesach!

4. Local Hechshir of Kasher LePesach BeHashgachat Harav Shlomo Ben Eliyahu, Galil region