Several weeks ago I purchase a pound of Green Mountain (Nantucket Blend) Coffee beans. To my dismay, I discovered that all of my coffee tins were full, what -to-do, what-to-do. A-HA, due to the fact that I am an avid consumer of Cognac(read drunk) I had several empty bottles stored in the cabinet. Actually, my wife makes me hold on to the bottles so she can use them as vases. Anyway, I decide to store the beans in a old bottle of Duboigalanx XO. A few weeks went by and I decided to "uncork" my coffee beans.
I noticed something right away. The usual pungent aroma of the coffee had mellowed out and now had a very suttle notes of Duboigalanx XO.
I ground the beans, put them in the French Press and waited. I must say-this had to be the best cup of coffee that I've ever made! I drink my coffee black, so you could really taste the how the Cognac had imparted itself into the beans. It was if I were drinking a coffee flavored liquor. I repeated this process with another bag of beans a week later, different Cognac, Paul Giraud, the same thing. While I'm suggesting that this is for everyone-give it a try if you have some old Cognac bottles kicking around. Better they should be put to use this way then being reincarnated as a vase.

this si an excellent idea....

I have a bunch of older scotch bottles lying around (premium scotch).. maybe I'll try and drop a pound of coffee in there.. and see what happens after a few weeks..

were you cognac bottles empty for a long time ?? or were they just emptied ?? I am asking this, because I wonder if teh bottle has been empty for let's say 6 month or a year.. is there any hints of cognac left in them ??

The Cognac bottles were empty for several months. Also of note, they had been soaked and washed. There was only a faint smell of Cognac. That appeared to be enough to do the job. I hope it works well for you.

good evening gents, without stepping on any toes here i was wondering if i could ask you gents a quick question on cognac. seeing as how you know a thing or two. what is a good cognac to try for a beginner?as i have never tasted it before. please don,t laugh.any help will be appreciated. thank you

That's a question alike which cigar to start with. Given that good cognac is also usually expensive, I'd recommend not buying I bottle right away, but trying different stuff here and there until you like one enough to get a bottle.

Some of my recommendations to cognac and brandy drinking (some people may think differently). This is no scotch, do not use any ice and do not drink it cooled. Warm up the glass with your hands (but don't even think about heating it in any way) so that some of the stuff slowly evaporates and you can enjoy the aroma better. That's why use drop-shaped thin glasses with wider bottom, so that evaporation surface is large but the "hole" where you sniff is small and thus concentrates the aroma.
Sip, not gulp. Do it slowly trying to enjoy every sip. Don't use any spicy/hot food when drinking cognac/brandy. The best time is after a dinner, together with chocolate if want something to go along with cognac, and of course, a good cigar.

Ok, so some of the well-known brands you may want to try out are: Courvoisier, Hennessy, Remy Martin. Do try some Armenian cognacs if you can get hold of them; most of them are absolutely deliciuos. Actually they are now called brandy - copyright issues. As far as I know only the drink coming from a restricted region in France can be called cognac.

Have nice journey in the wonderful world of cognac and brandy!

quote:

Originally posted by bklynkid:
what is a good cognac to try for a beginner?as i have never tasted it before. please don,t laugh.any help will be appreciated. thank you

As VO mentionned, cognac is a brandy made in a region in the southwest of France called Cognac -- it is made with white wine from a grape varietal called Folle Blanche. (Cognac is not far from another great brandy producing region : Armagnac.)

As legend as it, it was originally conceived as a way to concentrate wine to save on export taxes which were determined by volume.

Although there are many brands, you can begin your cognac experience with confidence with either a Remy Martin or a Hennessy -- standard but classic.

You have to know also that cognacs are classified in relation to the age average of the blend (they usually blend brandys of different ages to get a uniform taste -- and caramel coloring to have a uniform color). The older, the smoother, and the more expensive.

It goes approximetaly like this :
VO (Very Old) : 3 to 5 years.
VSOP (Very Special Old Pale) : 5 to 7 years.
XO (Extra Old) : More than 7. Usually from 10 to 20.
Older ones : Louis XIII, Paradis... we'll talk about that after you graduate to XOs...

Serve with NO ICE in a snifter.

Now go to the liquor store.

thanks gentleman i will try that over the holidays