279891 Wed Sep 21 16:27:04 -0700 2005 29 31 Home Cooking 0 1485331 anybody have a recommendation for a good cognac suitable for cooking? e.g., within reason, costwise. also, it should be something readily available as i am planning on picking it up at the airport duty-free store. Wed Sep 21 16:27:04 -0700 2005 0 queue 1 1485336 I have a friend who purchases the "airline sized bottles" of liquor for cooking. Wed Sep 21 16:37:27 -0700 2005 1485331 0 Alan408 1 1485366 As a former cognac drinker I used to get mad at the wife for using my best cognac in her cooking until I tasted the food. Believe it or not the better the cognac the better the food. Wed Sep 21 20:25:28 -0700 2005 1485331 0 yimster 2 1485372 Absolutely, if it is not drinking quality then it is not cooking quality. Wed Sep 21 21:12:36 -0700 2005 1485366 0 Candy 3 1485379 it makes perfect sense though. plus, you have something good to keep you occupied while slaving in the kitchen... Wed Sep 21 22:37:08 -0700 2005 1485372 0 lotsanivanh 1 1485397 I guess I disagree to some degree... Cognac is brandy from a specific region of France. And just as there are many great sparkling wines that are not Champagne (or bleu cheese not Rocquefort) because they don't come from grapes grown in that area, there are many nice brandies that are not Cognac, not made in France, not even made in Europe. But if you want to pay for a label, buy the least expensive you have heard of. My experience with Duty Free is that it is low on selection. And what they have will be high end. As in best for sipping, not cooking. And maybe one low-end for someone who wants the 'cognac' label but wants a cheap one. Thu Sep 22 02:31:16 -0700 2005 1485331 0 SteveT 2 4184535 right you are Steve. I like Spanish brandy and find a good one is a better bang for the buck than French cognac. I not talking cheap jug brandy. Tue Nov 18 18:00:36 -0800 2008 1485397 89493 scubadoo97 1 2369523 I'd like to reopen the discussion on this topic. I have come across a beef bourguignon and also a shrimp bisque recipe that call for cognac. What should I go into my liquor store and buy? Fri Mar 09 09:33:28 -0800 2007 1485331 23892 NYChristopher 2 2369987 i'd look for other recipes, lol. beef bourgogne is usually made with red wine, and i prefer sherry in bisques. ok, seriously... go to your local wine store and ask them lower end cognacs are often colored with carmel and kind of sticky sweet. you'd get a better value (for cooking) with a better brandy. Fri Mar 09 11:20:17 -0800 2007 2369523 30273 hotoynoodle 3 2370068 The other thing you can do, depending on how much you need, is get those miniature bottles - if you think you won't have other uses for the cognac. That's what I do when I make chicken liver mousse. Fri Mar 09 11:41:09 -0800 2007 2369987 10985 MMRuth 4 2370167 that's a quantity issue, not quality. julia always said if you won't drink it, don't cook with it. Fri Mar 09 12:03:37 -0800 2007 2370068 30273 hotoynoodle 5 2370256 True - but I guess I don't mind springing for a couple of dollars for a mini, rather than spending alot on a larger size, or less on a eh bottle (not that you were suggesting that latter). It was just a suggestion! Fri Mar 09 12:19:47 -0800 2007 2370167 10985 MMRuth 4 2371418 Frankly, I like cognac ... I just don't know much about it. If I had my druthers, I would keep a bottle of Delamain XO in the apartment, but I'm not cooking with a $60 bottle of cognac, at least not until I make some more money. Anyway, my point is I'd like enough to cook with and then some, but I don't want to break the bank. Fri Mar 09 17:45:58 -0800 2007 2370068 23892 NYChristopher 3 2371409 Well, I'm making Ina G's shrimp bisque this evening and got sherry for it, but also some cognac (I almost always attempt the recipe as is the first time ... too much of an amateur to do it any other way ... then I finesse it myself). Oh, so which Cognac? See my reply to WAWAJB below. Fri Mar 09 17:44:17 -0800 2007 2369987 23892 NYChristopher 1 2370334 I'm not sure what the OP (or re-OP as the case may be) is looking for...but I know I could actually use some advice on what would be a good 'bargain bottle' of cognac or brandy. I don't drink it, so I don't know anything about what brands are decent and what is swill...and as with anything else, there has to be a brand or two that is not as good as the price and a brand or two that is much better than the price. Does anybody have specific suggestions on which to look for and which to avoid? Although...on second thought perhaps this is a question better asked of one of the alchohol related boards. Worth a try anyway. Fri Mar 09 12:39:53 -0800 2007 1485331 58274 wawajb 2 2371452 Here's a primer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognac_%28drink%29 As I know it, VS is Very Special VSOP is Very Special Old & Pale XO is eXtra Old And it's all a question of how long it ages. As for a bargain, no, Delamain XO isn't (not at $60/btl) but it's what I like. I ended up getting a 375ml bottle of Pierre Ferrand amber for about $17 (figure $35 for a full bottle). I believe it to be the entry level spirit of a small- to mid-size producer. Perhaps a little thin, resembles an eau de vie to a certain extent. Fair value for the money, I certainly I won't mind cooking with this. http://www.pierreferrandcognac.com/en/produits.php?obid=1 Fri Mar 09 17:56:02 -0800 2007 2370334 23892 NYChristopher 1 2371236 I use Hennesey. It has served me well. I got a 750 ml bottle for $35.00, I think you can find it cheaper elsewhere. Fri Mar 09 16:41:49 -0800 2007 1485331 11259 Becca Porter 2 2371456 Having never actually had Hennesey (hard to believe, I know) I wasn't sure if it was acceptable for cooking and such. Thanks for the tip, Becca. Fri Mar 09 17:57:12 -0800 2007 2371236 23892 NYChristopher 3 2381169 NYChristopher, I understand the problem - I solved it a different way, I cook with XO and drink Delamain vesper! I guess deep down I have a problem with having an open bottle of 'not drinkable quality' cognac in the house as I simply wouldn't use it rapidly enough by cooking with it only. That being said, Hennessey, Hine or Remy Martin would all do, just aren't in the house. PS XO and Vesper are excellent in icecream. Tue Mar 13 11:09:49 -0700 2007 2371456 24646 ali patts 4 2386532 Interestingly enough, my sister (a vesper fan) and I ordered one each of the XO and vesper one night ... and agreed the vesper didn't warrant the price increase (Better? Yes. That much better? No.) Wed Mar 14 17:27:42 -0700 2007 2381169 23892 NYChristopher 1 2377060 The well-known brand names you would find in the airport duty-free include Hennessey and Remy Martin. You might not see Delamain or Pierre Ferrand. I would recommend getting a bottle of VSOP, which is aged longer and will be appreciably more delicious than VS, but not as expensive as the XO ($80+). If you decide to go to a liquor store with a wide inventory instead, sometimes there are 10 oz (?) hip flask size bottles of the VS behind the cashier. Once you have a bottle on hand, there are lots of uses for cognac - for de-glazing, for cookie dough, pumpkie pie filling, into poultry stuffing with sausage & herbs, for plumping dried cranberry or dried cherries, and into beef stews along with red wine, and for setting roasted bananas a la mode on fire (very exciting with the lights off!). My aunt used to make her own vanilla extract by putting a whole bean into a little bottle of good cognac and letting it sit for months. Mon Mar 12 09:58:22 -0700 2007 1485331 14011 vicki_vale 1 2379613 If I (were to) use cognac, it is usually to flambe (three nights ago it was sliced german sausage and herbs). Instead, I use a good quality rum and have never had anyone be less than fully satisfied. Mon Mar 12 20:55:46 -0700 2007 1485331 36661 Sam Fujisaka 1 2387172 I buy Chalfonte cognac for cooking. It should be very inexpensive, like $15 at a discount store. It doesn't quite pack enough oopmh for dinking, IMO, but the flavor works well in food and it's excellent for flambee dishes. Wed Mar 14 21:13:04 -0700 2007 1485331 11250 bibi rose 2 2402674 Thanks for the tip, especially as it's definitely in my price range (I've seen it priced online at $19-$25). Mon Mar 19 23:54:05 -0700 2007 2387172 23892 NYChristopher 1 4182655 I'd like to try to re-revive this topic because it seems like there's some important information missing just yet. Steve T pointed out (below) that: "just as there are many great sparkling wines that are not Champagne because they don't come from grapes grown in that area, there are many nice brandies that are not Cognac, not made in France, not even made in Europe." So I'm thinking that if I want to get the flavor of cooking with decent cognac, the solution is not to buy a cheap un-aged cognac, but to buy a decent brandy that costs less (because it's not French cognac) but has higher quality. Yes? No? Any suggestions? Tue Nov 18 07:35:04 -0800 2008 1485331 14040 GDSwamp 2 4184151 For inexpensive cooking brandy, I would recommend Christian Brothers or Paul Masson. These are especially useful in desserts because they tend to be sweeter than more expensive brandies/cognacs, due to the higher quantity of carmel added for color. If you want to go more upscale, but still be on the inexpensive side, solely for cooking, look for the cheapest French Napoleon or XO that the liquor store has. The Christian Brothers and Paul Masson ought to run you about $12, the cheap French B "Napoleon" (where do they get that from, by the way?) ought to run about $15 to $18. Places like BJ's or, I presume, Sam's Club, Costco, etc. will sell you a bottle of Hennessy VS, Martell VS, Courvoisier VS, etc. for $25 to $28, but at that price level, we are getting to the point where I cringe to add this good stuff to a recipe. Incidentally, my cognac of choice is Martell VS. I generally prefer the VS level cognacs to the VSOP's because the VSOP's have been aged to the point that, while they are admittedly smoother, the cognac flavor has been toned down to the point that they seem slightly watered down to me. Tue Nov 18 15:27:24 -0800 2008 4182655 22427 gfr1111 3 4186869 Thanks! That's helpful. I'm headed to the liquor store... Wed Nov 19 13:49:08 -0800 2008 4184151 14040 GDSwamp 1 4183624 My two cents. If you're going to be flaming, simmering or otherwise cooking the hell out of your cognac - use a decent but not expensive brandy instead. The subtlety of a pricey brand will almost certainly be utterly lost in the process. If you're using the cognac in a dessert or sauce that will be served without cooking or with just minimal heating, use a good (but not ridiculously expensive) brand of cognac. You will taste the difference here. Sometime within the last year or two, there was an article in the NY Times about the use of not-so-delicious wine in cooking and the fact that you really couldn't taste the difference between cheap plonk and vintage Bordeaux when used in a stew or braised dish. I tend to agree with this. You need only to try to match the body type of the wine - heavy or light - and use something economical. Tue Nov 18 12:22:26 -0800 2008 1485331 12383 Nyleve 2 4183796 Agreed. However, as a total know-nothing in regards to brandy, I wouldn't know the difference between a decent-but-affordable brandy and a crappy-but-overpriced brandy. Tue Nov 18 13:08:49 -0800 2008 4183624 14040 GDSwamp 3 4184049 Ask at the store. Don't buy the cheapest thing on the shelf, but don't go crazy either. Tue Nov 18 14:53:53 -0800 2008 4183796 12383 Nyleve