Tasting Cognac
When tasting cognac you do not only use the month but also your sight and smell as described below
The color
The color of the cognac can give you an idea of its age since longer aging in wooden cask gives the cognac a more dark color. However it is allowed to add certain amount of caramel to the cognac so coloration is often not an accurate way of telling the age as the color could be caused by caramel.
Rotate the glass slightly and examine the beads of alcohol which slide down around the glass – observe the thickness of the ‘legs’, their symmetry and descent. If caramel has been added for color the legs will fall in thick and transparent drops.
The aroma
To smell the cognac you should keep the glass a 3-4 centimeters from your nose and inhale aroma gently. If you put your nose too close to the glass or inhale too powerful you might ruin the nose with alcohol fumes. The aromas will vary with the age of the cognac but the most present scents are vanilla, nuts, flowers and caramel. Pause and catch your breath, slightly swirl the cognac, now bring the glass to the nose again (a bit closer this time) and inhale. The aroma you smell this succeeding time is also called the cognac’s second nose.
The taste
Take enough cognac into the mouth that allows you to pass it over the tongue and the back of the mouth allowing it to touch the key sensors on your tongue – the tip for sweetness, the back for bitterness and saltiness and sourness on the sides. Try and keep the cognac in the mouth for ten to fifteen seconds to release as much of the flavor as possible. What flavors do your taste fruit, flowers, spice or rancio? Also try and identify how balanced the cognac is, does it bite or is it smooth, is it sticky and sweet (added caramel).
Some frequent terms used when tasting cognac
| Term | Description |
| Odor | all scents that the cognac presents |
| Aroma | the pleasant odor felt by the nose |
| Bouquet | the variety of odors and aromas in the cognac |
| Montant aroma | first odor, which the cognac presents |
| Smack | feel on the tip of tongue and palate |
| Duration | length of montant aroma |
| Termination | taste, which remains on the palate, after drinking cognac. |
The Aromas of Cognac
The Fruit age
In younger cognacs, normally older than 8 years, fruity notes should appear. Classic fruits note to be found are oranges, lemons, apricots, peach, plum, pear, fresh fig, etc.
The Flowers age
In middle-aged cognacs, normally older than 12 years, present a fine distinction of flowers scents. Usual flower scents can be rose, jasmine, violet, honeysuckle, almond, etc.
The Spices age
In the oldest cognacs, normally older than 20 years, notes of spices should appear. Classic notes are vanilla, cinnamon, coffee, toffee, coconut, ginger, etc.
Rancio
Rancio is the term used to describe the rather bitter smell and taste old cognac obtains from the indented oxidization that happens during extensive aging in oak casks. Rancio often described as a cheesy, nutty flavor a bit like blue chess with dry walnuts
Five princple aromas
The five principle aromas that characterize Cognac were in large tasting done by the French cognac association found to be: vanilla, prune, caramel, orange and apricot.