CAMUS Borderies XO Family Reserve - The perfect tasting mastering Cognac

There is an art to tasting Cognac and you’d be surprised to know that tasting Cognac is a more complex matter than tasting wine.

First of all, compared with wine, the color of a Cognac is of little importance for the quality and even worse, it could distract the taster.

Experts recommend a tulip-shaped glass which allows the Cognac to retain its delicate aroma and to release it slowly.

The tulip-tasting glass, especially made for CAMUS is the ultimate tasting glass for true connoisseurs. The taster cannot be influenced by the color of the Cognac and can concentrate mentally on tasting the aromas.

CAMUS Borderies XO Family Reserve is a very aromatic single-estate Cognac with a lot of character. When using the CAMUS’ tulip-tasting glass you can focus your mind exclusively on its aroma. It will unveil the full extent of its rich array of aromas with fruity, spicy, gourmet notes before developing perfectly toward a finish with long-lasting floral hints.

How to proceed with the tasting:

You need to pour about 25ml (0.85 oz.) in your tulip-shaped glass at room temperature. The benefit of this type of glass is it retains the aromas and reveals them with great delicacy throughout the tasting.

The first nose (30 seconds to 2 minutes after pouring): 

The first impression should be gained by holding the glass still with the nose slowly approaching the rim.

You should hold the glass by the stand and move the edge of the glass back and forth to catch the right amount of the most delicate hints of different fruits or flowers. You need to find the right distance between your nose and the edge of the glass, not to close, not too far in order to catch the subtlest and delicate scents. 

The second nose (3 to 5 minutes after pouring): 

The glass then should be very slowly rotated so the liquid covers all the inside of the glass (never swirl it). This will allow to capture the depth and variety of the most volatile elements. 

Here you will encounter floral and fruity aromas such as linden flower, grapevine flower, lemongrass, Lily of the Valley, rose, fruits, violets, vanilla… The specific shape of the tulip glass will maximize the olfactory experience.

You can then put your nose into the glass to capture the heavy component and inhale its bouquet before taking your first sip. 

First Tasting:

Only then you can taste. Take a sip and suck in a little air over the cognac in your mouth. This will bring the Cognac into contact with most of your taste receptors in the mouth. 

You will discover a soft, buttery, pastry style with a rounded and elegantly textured mouthfeel of flowers, fruits, cinnamon, vanilla and a light sprinkling of sweet spices. 

In the mouth the Cognac will release aromatic notes that will reach the olfactory bulb via the retro nasal passage. 

Second Tasting:

After the first tasting, let the Cognac wait in the glass for 10 minutes. Organoleptic components will evolve and you will discover new aromatic notes and flavors both in the nose and while tasting.

A few tips:

Cognac glasses should be very clean and without any smell. They should be washed without any soap or detergent, using just pure water. This is such an important point that professionals sometimes even wash their glasses with demineralizer water in order not to pollute the glass with any smell.

You should also know that in Cognac, professional tastings are usually done around 10:00 to 11:00 am which is the time of the day when the sense are the most awaken and when tasters can perceive all the complexity of the product they taste.

Want to try this? Discover our tulip glasses on our online store.