Gourrey de Chadeville Overproof

While I typically enjoy high-proof spirits, I cannot endorse this one. It undeniably delivers an intense flavor impact, but it's not a flavor I desire in my cognac (or brandy or spirits in general). The aroma is primarily licorice, with an underlying hint of ginger, candied orange, and a touch of burnt sugar. After a short while, the aroma blossoms into a mix of various candied fruits, including peaches, cherries, and some type of floral note. The taste is rich and abundant, but its youth is quite apparent. It brings to mind some lower-quality light whiskeys I've sampled. The first image that comes to mind is a licorice-flavored ginger shortbread cookie (which is not a standard cookie flavor). One detects a faint hint of baked apple at the start before encountering oak and lavender. The primary and secondary flavors I recall are licorice and lavender. I can't say I particularly care for that combination. Then again, I've never been fond of licorice flavoring in anything.

This cask strength Brandy from Gourry de Chadeville Distillery in Cognac, France, created specifically for PM Spirits, is crafted from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes and bottled at 55% ABV. The wine undergoes double distillation on the lees using a 25-hectoliter copper pot-still. It matured for a total of 3 years: 30 months in seasoned Limousin oak followed by 6 months in foudre. Just 330 bottles were imported to the United States last year. It offers an aromatic beginning with hints of raisin, dried apple, saddle leather, and yellow cake; a dry and full body contributes notes of apple and pear; culminating in a long and warming finish with notes of fire, grain, wheat, and dried fruit. July 2019

It's not as intricate as I'd hoped, but it does present pleasant, spicy, peppery scents with a taste primarily of apples. And it's quite potent, being overproof – it's better with a few drops of water. I'm not entirely convinced this tasting convinced me of the value of overproof Cognac.

Smoky. Peaty.