Coldorak's whisky blog.
Whisky reviews
Day 17 of our Cognac-Expert 2025 Advent Calendar brought an A.E. Dor Vieille Réserve No. 8 Cognac. A.E. Dor has sat on my must‑try list for quite some time, so finding it in this year’s calendar feels like a small victory. One sample won’t ever tell the full story of a cognac house, but every exploration starts with a first glass. As usual, let’s say a few words about A.E. Dor before diving into their Vieille Réserve No. 8 Cognac.
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And… just like that, we’re already two thirds of the way through the 2025 Cognac-Expert Advent Calendar, and today’s dram is a Michel Forgeron Barrique 92 Cognac. Before diving into the glass, let’s have a few words on who stands behind this bottling. Then we’ll take a closer look at their Barrique 92 Grande Champagne cognac.
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We continue the second half of our Cognac-Expert 2025 Advent Calendar with a Louis Royer Extra cognac, allowing us to discover yet another new name (new for us!) in these pages. As usual when we add a new brand or producer here, let’s talk about its history first, before reviewing their cognac.
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The fourteenth pouch of our Cognac-Expert Advent Calendar brings back a cherished name: Famille Cabanne, this time with a Fins Bois Lot 89. Last years calendar still lingers in memory thanks to Richard Delisle Lot 53 – Famille Cabanne in disguise – which delivered an absolutely stunning experience. Their Lot 24 Grande Champagne, a 100-year-old marvel, impressed even more and left us speechless until it came time to put the glass content into words. Now a new Fins Bois from the same family steps up, and expectations run very high for this Lot 89.
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We mark the halfway point of the Cognac-Expert 2025 Advent Calendar with a pour from one of Charente’s most enduring dynasties: the Frapin XO VIP Cognac. Hailing from a family whose winegrowing roots stretch back centuries, this Grande Champagne expression carries the weight of serious history. Now, let’s see if the liquid in the glass lives up to the VIP title.
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The eleventh pouch revealed a J. Dupont XO Art Déco Cognac, as we’re nearing the end of the first half of our Cognac-Expert 2025 Advent Calendar already. Once again, we try a Cognac from a long-standing Cognac house, and we add a new name to this humble blog. Let’s talk about their history, before reviewing the J. Dupont XO Art Déco cognac.
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Day 10 of the Cognac-Expert 2025 Advent Calendar introduces a newcomer with a sky-high backstory: WV Baker Lot 91 La Fût-sée. Founded by former pilot Benjamin Baker, this young independent bottler hunts down hidden gems across the region. Today’s dram, a 34-year-old Bons Bois single cask, promises to showcase Baker’s knack for sourcing cognacs that soar.
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Day 9 of the Cognac‑Expert 2025 Advent Calendar lines up another Borderies heavyweight: a Godet 29‑year‑old single cask. Two earlier Godet single casks already set the bar high – a very good 43‑year‑old and an excellent 17‑year‑old – so this one arrives with serious expectations, sitting almost perfectly between them on the age spectrum. Time to see whether this 29‑year‑old carves out its own place in that line‑up or even manages to steal the spotlight.
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We launch the second week of the Cognac-Expert 2025 Advent Calendar with an exciting debut: with the Bertrand XO Carafe Cognac, a nearly 300-year-old house making its first appearance on More Drams. Presented in a superb and elegant decanter – a vessel I rarely champion over classic bottles, yet this one commands genuine admiration – the question remains whether the cognac within matches the refinement of its presentation.
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We conclude our debut week of the Cognac-Expert 2025 Advent Calendar with a Seguinot Réserve de la Famille cognac. Though Seguinot represents a fresh addition to the More Drams portfolio, the house commands deep respect within Cognac circles – a distinction you’ll discover in our background section below. The calendar has delivered consistently very good expressions throughout this opening week, so let’s see if day 7’s pouch carries that momentum forward with one of Seguinot’s most treasured releases, the Réserve de la Famille.
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