Ranger Posted December 25, 2004 Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 I was killing time at the Taipei airport on the way home and figured I might as well grab a couple of bottles of duty free booze. I got a cheap bottle of Japanese Ume liqueur (just to try something different) and a small bottle of Hennessy XO Cognac. I've never really bought any high end alcohol before and didn't really pay attention to the exchange rate. Was quite shocked when I found out I paid over $100 for it!!! Don't really have much Cognac drinking experience to compare it to, but it's got a quite nice flavor, is very smooth , and just one very small glass gave me a nice warm buzz. Still, I just can't get my head around paying so much for a bottle of booze and I don't plan on doing it again. I guess it's a status thing as much as anything else? Ranger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted December 25, 2004 Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 Hi! Face it mate. Cognac is a very expensive booze. Check the prices at Don Muang some time and remember that there is a large price span between VO and XO. Personally I love cognac but the real expensive ones I will only drink on rare occasions. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walletss Posted December 25, 2004 Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 You reminded me of the 80's. I remember a business associate taking me out for drinks to a Japanese club in The Patpong area called The Ju Ju club. In order to be admitted you had to buy a bottle of whiskey for $100 US. They put your name on it and that is how you got to enjoy the privileges of the club. That was a hell of a lot of money about 17 years ago. Anybody remember the place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJsushi Posted December 25, 2004 Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 Don't want to be a stickler but Cognac is not whiskey/whisky. Cognac is a brandy which has been made from white wine and aged in oak. Brandy is made from fruit whereas whisky is made from grain. Cognac is expensive because it is made in the Cognac region of France and is distilled in a certain manner and aged in a very particular type of French Oak. Basically anything from France will force you to pay a premium in other words Cognac is not cheap. Think of Cognac as luxury brandy. Now you can spend less money on brandy which will taste something like Cognac but it will not be Cognac, it will be simply brandy. There are many cheap brandies out there tthat are pretty good, so I would suggest that if you like cognac then explore the other types of brandy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted December 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 JJ, Yeah, I know it's not whiskey, I just wanted a snappy title for my post. I'll enjoy my splurge, but won't be drinking it again after this bottle is finished unless someone else is buying! I hear the stuff goes for $25 per drink at upscale bars in the States. I'm enjoying a pre-bedtime drink right now and I warmed the glass first as recommended. Now, if I only had a nice Cuban Cigar.......then my wife would kick me out of the house! Ranger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean Posted December 26, 2004 Report Share Posted December 26, 2004 I'll usually stock up on duty free booze when I go to the carribean, usually St. Maarten. Duty free at airports only means that the tax has not been charged. It doesn't mean that they dixcount their mark-up price. There are so many stores on St. Maarten that sell booze (and also sell jewelry) that they sell the booze at cost to get you in the store. I've bought high priced whisky in Edinburgh (85 sterling after the VAT was refunded) but that was 4 years ago and it is still hidden in my closet. If it was in my bar, my nephew would have taken it by now for one of his high school keg parties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted December 26, 2004 Report Share Posted December 26, 2004 "...Cognac is a brandy which has been made from white wine and aged in oak...." Not trying to split hairs here, But I believe Cgnac is actually made from champagne grapes, that have been pressed previously, then twice distilled. Apparewntly, the first press is used for Champagne, the second press for Brandy/cognac (might be wrong here) and the final press for juice the remaining mash is used for over priced jelly and jam... At least that is what they told me on a tour of Domain Chandon, the Napa division of Moet Chandon...by the way, it is pronounced Mo-eT The "T" is not silent, he was Dutch, not French! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted December 26, 2004 Report Share Posted December 26, 2004 OH, Not really...... the champagne region is east in France, the cognac region is west, near the coast of La Rochelle...... Cognac is usually made of Ugni Blanc grapes, and we are talking of about 4 sorts of cognac, with the highest called "grande Champagne", only a designation, nothing with to do with champagne....... And kept in oakwood from the Limousin. Wasn't Moet fron the Alsace ? Certainly not Dutch anyway...... Chok dee ! BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummigut Posted December 27, 2004 Report Share Posted December 27, 2004 Armagnac, the better cognac, hehe. Just a note on duties. I was in another country and they didn't have any tequilla so I picked up a bottle of JW Gold. 1,400 baht. In Tesco today and the same bottle was 2,600 baht or something. Now if I get JW Green on my next trip, I'll have a set (well, I'd have to buy the red): Red, Black, Green, Gold and Swing. It's gonna take me 10 years to drink all this crap. <<burp>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted December 27, 2004 Report Share Posted December 27, 2004 XO is a premium Cognac; you can have it much cheaper. for example Hennessy VSOP cost around 1200 in Villa. of course it's a bit a difference but mainly for experts and connaisseurs like me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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