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64 / the tasting panel / october 2009 range from the smooth, fruity and very mixable VS to the intense dried fruits and slightly charred cedar of their ultra- elegant L'Esprit de Courvoisier, which contains vintages once supplied for the courts of Napoléon and Edward VII. Yet their Exclusif, while being one of the oldest VSOP cognacs on the mar- ket, is contemporary in style. It is the ultimate cocktail cognac, full of spicy gingerbread and vanilla and destined to inspire your customers to revisit cognac country. It's a trip worth taking. www.room101silver.com C ognac must be brandy, but all brandy cannot be cognac. Aside from strict European Union regulations protecting the cognac appellation, most other brandies are produced by a single distillation, even though they may be made from the same grapes as cognac. But not always. Germain-Robin makes an XO that primarily uses California Pinot Noir and is akin in texture to some of the finest Grande Champagne cognacs. And Jepson Old Stock is a Men- docino brandy bursting with chocolate and honeyed molasses. Interestingly, the winery, recently purchased by Ken and Diane Wilson and renamed Jaxon Keys, plans to distill even more brandy. Beringer and Krug are just two iconic California wineries that produce brandy. But the avowed market leaders in the field of domestic brandies are family-owned E & J Distillers (from Gallo) and Korbel. E & J produces a VS and VSOP from Colom- bard and Chenin Blanc grapes; both are aged a minimum of two years in American oak. The XO is distilled from Ugni Blanc and Colombard and aged in a combination of French and Amer- ican oak for at least seven years. The VS, with brown sugar and dried fruit notes, is perfect for cocktails, while the slightly heavier sherry and vanilla tones of the VSOP spices up everything from a Brandy Alexander to a Sidecar. And the XO, with its full, rounded flavors of oak and toasted caramel, holds its own on the rocks or mixed. Korbel has been distilling California brandy since 1889, and controls every aspect of production, from distillation to bottling. Small, charred American oak barrels are used for aging, and blending is done with the solera system. Korbel's Classic Brandy is reminiscence of cherries and cream, while their V.S.O.P. Gold Reserve is soft and slightly smoky. However, Korbel's XS (for Extra Smooth) is blended after aging with spices, vanilla, orange flavor and pure cane sugar for a brandy that tingles the senses, whether in cocktails or simply with soda and ice. From back bar staple to premium pour, California brandies continue the tradition of combining the New World with the Old. After all, the Statue of Liberty was made of stone that came from Cognac. —RCH Brandy from California: Cognac's Cousin Cognac and cigars are a traditional com- bination, shown here with a Xikar cutter embellished with sterling silver skulls and chain by Matt Booth of Room 101. Richard Carleton Hacker gets into the spirit of "The Cognac of Napoléon" while visiting Château Courvoisier.