When looking through the replies here, it is fairly obvious that there are different views on what exactly makes a good brandy. Not surprisingly, really. “Hey, I really like jazz. Can anyone recommend good chamber pieces?” That would probably also get a thousand different very valid answers.
Could you perhaps hint at which whiskies you prefer over which other whiskies? That might just give a clue on what it is that stokes your fire, so to speak, and make a brandy suggestion easier. They do, after all, span a fairly wide range of tastes.
Like you, however, I am almost infused with whisky. When, on rare occasion, it comes to brandy, I’m on the Delord’s authentique cask strength versions. They are relatively uncomplicated but still have a bit of edge. My whisky preference is towards very heavily peated and a hint of salt, and usually slightly throaty. Port Ellen over MacAllan. Anyhow! I suppose that if you prefer your whisky smooth, you also want a smooth brandy. Aggressive whisky = aggressive brandy. How is that for theory ?
I, too, am drawn to the peaty, smoky malts - but my preference for brandy is as smooth as possible! But then for the malts I want smoothness with that intensity of taste, so it is not contradictory. But indeed maybe a good question for the OP.
Although I prefer Armagnac (everything from a 10€ French supermarket bottle to a rather more expensive 40 year old!), I also love a German weinbrand, particularly Asbach Uralt. A standard bottle will set you back about £25, or if you push the boat out, about £60 for a 15 year old. These tend to be much smoother on the palate than Cognac, on a par with Armagnac.
I’m quite partial to the occasional (French) Cognac, but having lived in Spain for a little while, I grew to like some of theirs too. Soberano is nice, but if I’m feeling extravagant, this is my favourite…
Thanks, I am quietly stockpiling for what might be a long winter.
And trying to get good quality at reasonable price , I am very unfussy about supermarket labels on the outside but fussy about the contents on the inside, having said that the German weinbrand looks very interesting
Hear, hear. Waitrose push it out at c.£37 a bottle. I’ve enjoyed it for over 50 years from when we could buy it for less than a Bahrain Dinar in the Emirates or Oman. That was when £1 would get you BD1.100. Happy days
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One of my favourites