Cognac XO (Extra Old)

Rich and exploding with flavour, Cognac XO is a simply wonderful drink, which is enjoyed by people around the world. While produced around, and named after a town in France called Cognac, Cognac is actually drank more outside of France, than it is within. In fact, only 3% of Cognac is consumed in France. Other places, like the rest of Europe, China, and the USA are large consumers of Cognac.

Cognacs are graded in terms of their age, and XO is Cognac that has been aged for between six and twenty years. The current minimum aging for Cognac XO is six years, but from 2016, this will go up to ten years. XO is an acronym for extra old. While currently, the minimum aging period for the brandy used to make XO Cognac is six years, it’s usually much more than this on average.

To make XO Cognac, brandy is distilled in a still made from copper, and then it is aged for at least six years in a barrel. The barrels that are used to make XO Cognac, and any other cognac must be made from oak from two areas in France, which are Limousin or Tronçais.