Cognac is perhaps the most common alcoholic gift... But it turns out to choose it from this a large number all possible options are not so easy, so we will leave you a few tips that will help you in such a difficult matter.

The most important thing that you should know is that the cognac must be selected so that it corresponds to the status of the one to whom you present it. Well, let's say, giving a three-star cognac to a director of a large company is somewhat tactless. What determines the status of cognac? This is, first of all, exposure. The more mature the cognac, the better, of course. The rest depends on your financial capabilities, since the cost of the drink directly depends on its aging. Next is the brand. When in doubt, choose something more recognizable. Well, if you really don't understand cognacs and their brands at all, then in specialized stores they will definitely tell you. Or you can remember a few brands now: Martell, Lheraud, Hennessy - where can we go without him, Courvoisier, Remy Martin.

Of course, it must be gift wrapped cognac. Now there are many such options. All eminent cognac brands are practically always sold in gift wrapping. Perhaps, it will be more difficult to find a “naked” bottle among them. Of course, here there are some difficulties in choosing, since the packaging is different: from ordinary cardboard to wooden box; and it also affects the status of your gift.

Related products are also important. For example, if your friend is a smoker, it would be great to give him a cigar along with cognac, since these two products are just perfect for each other, and you will please your friend twice.

You can find sets with glasses - this will also be great option gift.

But the most important thing is, of course, the warm and sincere words with which you present your gift. Here any cognac will seem and turn out to be the best, the most delicious, the most expensive.

If you are still in doubt about which cognac to give (and whether cognac at all), then you can contact WineStreet, we will be happy to help you with the choice.

Yes, there is currently a very large selection of gift items that can confuse any person who wants to find the right gift. And to prevent this from happening, you must adhere to the basic rules. Remember, when you choose a gift cognac for the manager, the price of cognac must correspond to the level and position held.

The first thing you should pay attention to is, of course, your financial capabilities and the capabilities of the person being gifted. The thing is that if your manager has sufficiently broad financial capabilities, most likely, he only drinks expensive drinksmade by real professionals. If you decide to buy a cheap analogue of cognac, your trick will be quickly figured out.

There are many manufacturers of this drink in the world. According to the rating of the most expensive collectible cognacs, the cost of the most expensive is $ 2 million per bottle. This drink is called "Henry IV", and its peculiarity is that only the descendants of this great king can cook it.

However, too expensive cognac as a gift will be an impermissible luxury, so it is better to familiarize yourself with the rating of the best, but more budgetary brands of this drink.

The best cognac brands

The second place is taken by "Trijol VSOP". The rich bouquet of flavors of this drink gives light fruity notes. In addition, cognac is distinguished by its elegance and fine, fine structure.

Frapin Chateau Fontpinot XO closes the top three. This cognac has a light golden color, and its aroma includes notes of caramel, vanilla, exotic fruits, lilies, acacia, hawthorn and some other mountain flowers.

Brandy rating

The rating of cognac is traditionally made by experts. This is about 500 people who have been professionally involved in testing alcoholic beverages for the past three years. Experts taste quality brands skate with the sole purpose of composing drinks and identifying. No more than 200 drinks are involved in such testing. It should be noted that this is not so easy to accomplish, and the opinion of professionals is very subjective.

Often the oldest cognac wins, and not the best one. However, the specialists who are admitted to the rating are real admirers and connoisseurs of this drink... Many of them have the opportunity to choose the best Russian or french cognac passed by inheritance.

Many are interested to know which Russian cognac is the best. In this case, a separate rating of this alcoholic beverage is compiled in Russia. The skate is also tested here. Based on their results, a rating is compiled. Based this choice the drink is assigned a certain number of stars. The best skates have five stars. It is from this that the value of the brand of the drink comes.

Which cognac is the best, everyone must decide for themselves. Only in this case you will not be mistaken with the choice.

One of the most versatile gifts for a man is a bottle of good alcohol. Cognac is a popular alcoholic beverage and is recognized by a much larger number of buyers than other types of spirits.

It is for this reason that a bottle of cognac as a gift for a man will be a very good choice, which will be worthily appreciated. In this process, it is important to choose the right drink, choose the brand that will be preferable for the gift, and present it in an original way.

Presenting good alcohol as a gift to a man has long become a tradition for many. Men’s props such as cigars, lighters and glasses are often presented with the drink. In order to decide which drink to choose as a gift for a man, you should pay attention to some of the nuances labeling of good alcohol, as well as the characteristics of alcohol.

The origin of alcohol

The geographical boundaries of the area in which the production of cognac is allowed, the production technology and the very name "Cognac" are strictly defined - the Charente region, France. Strong alcohol other countries, as well as produced outside the Charente region cannot be called that. In the international market, it is customary to call it.

However, on the territory of the CIS, there is a trade agreement, according to which brandy can be called cognac, if certain standards and technologies were observed during production, therefore, Ukrainian and Russian brands are often found.

Its quality cannot be doubted, since production is strictly controlled, and the history of the most famous brands can be hundreds of years old. That is why they do not risk their reputation. In other countries, the manufacturing technology is not so closely controlled, and the product can be of different quality, and many of them are made to standards far from the original.

An example is steeping on oak sawdust instead of aging in barrels, or diluting grape spirit with cheaper grains. It is important to know such things when choosing a good alcohol as a gift for a man, because only cognac, which naturally ages, will have a noble and multifaceted aroma and taste. For example, excellent in taste only grows old naturally.

Price and place of sale

The prices for alcohol can be very different - from $ 10 to several thousand, it all depends on the brand you choose. For example, one of the most expensive bottles costs about $ 2,500. Whichever drink you choose, first of all it must be of high quality.

Of course, a high price does not always guarantee the same high quality, because thanks to modern technologies even bottles with very good protection are counterfeited. The color, aroma and density of alcohol can be simulated using chemical substances, dyes and flavorings.

That is why the most important place when choosing a gift alcohol will be a place - a store specializing in the sale of alcoholic beverages, where you can not only document the quality of the product, but also get professional advice.

Whatever you choose, the main thing is to remember that an overly expensive gift can put a person in an awkward situation, and a very cheap one can offend, so it is best to choose the middle price category.

Excerpt

When choosing alcohol, especially if you give it to a connoisseur and lover noble drink, you need to know the designation of the number of years of exposure. There are two types of such designations - French marking and marking of the CIS countries, including Armenia.

If you choose a French brand:

• Trois Etoiles, de Luxe, V. S., Selection - aged for at least two years.
• Superior - three years of aging.
• V. S. O. P., V. O., Reserve, Vieux, Rare - minimum exposure 4 years.
• V. V. S. O. P. Grande Reserve - aged for at least 5 years.
• Vieille Reserve, X. O., Extra, Napoleon, Royal or Tres Vieux - over 6 years old.

If you decide to take Armenian alcohol for a man, you should pay attention that the marking differs significantly from the French one. This is because it is divided into several types - ordinary, vintage and collectible... Accordingly, their price will be different.

Ordinary. On the labels of such alcohol, stars are applied, indicating the number of years of aging. Minimal amount there are three stars, that is, three years of aging, if there are fewer stars, this is no longer cognac, but a cognac drink.
Vintage has letter designations:

• "KV" - exposure not less than six years.
• "KVVK" - withstood over 8 years.
• "KS" - over 10 years old.
• "OS" - 20 and more years.

Collectable alcohol is called alcohol, whose age exceeds 23 years.

What good cognac to choose as a gift for a man

Among the wide variety of brands, you can get lost in the choice. It is best to look in advance on the Internet and look for alcohol that interests you. The list of good cognac as a gift for a man will not be too long, which will simplify your choice.

How to give cognac in an original way

If you have already chosen which good cognac give it to a man, you should take care of how to present alcohol beautifully. There are several ways to do this.

• Gift wrap. Sufficient amount good liquor is sold packed in excellent quality cardboard boxes and metal tubes. Such packages often come with a pair of branded glasses, which will make the gift even more pleasant for a man.
  Gift wrapping can also be purchased separately. For example, you can put alcohol in a special telescope or a book. This will make your gift original and unforgettable, and gift wrap can also serve as a storage for a drink.
• Chest. A small wooden chest is perfect for presenting alcohol as a present and using it as storage.
• Barrel. It is thanks to the aging of the drink in the barrel that it acquires its unique taste and aroma. A gift keg usually has iron loops, a patterned faucet, and you can add a nameplate to it.
  The taste of alcohol in such a barrel will only get better, and storage will last for many years. For example, you can buy it immediately in a beautiful barrel.
• Mini bar. Such a gift will be a great addition to home decor... The minibar can hold one bottle or two or three.
  The shapes are completely different - they are in the shape of a globe, in the shape of a ship, an airplane, a bicycle. Everything will depend on the preferences of the recipient.
  For example, donated in a small ship-mini-bar will look very original.
• Packaging made of paper and fabric. If you spent a fair amount of money on alcohol, but there is not enough for packaging, you can do it yourself. Can be wrapped in crepe paper and tied with an elegant bow, can be wrapped in a sleeve male shirt and decorate its neck with a tie, make an original bag from dense fabric or even a Napoleon costume.
• Nice additions. Together with good alcohol you can present expensive dark chocolate, cigars and good coffee... All these additions perfectly set off the taste an exquisite drink and complement the already rich bouquet.

Whatever good cognac you choose to present to a man, do not forget that it will also be important to prepare a congratulation. Sincere words in addition to good drink will surely leave pleasant impressions and cheer up any man.

And how do you present the noble alcohol and which brands you prefer, be sure to write about it in the comments.

Nowadays, it has become fashionable to give elite alcohol, it is great way thank the person for the services rendered or show him your respect. And if the man you are giving is that the best gift there will be cognac for him. But when choosing a gift alcohol, pay attention to some of the nuances.

In the assortment presented today in our stores, it is quite difficult for an unprepared person to navigate. It is especially important not to run into a fake. It is this article that will help you figure out what's what.

We will talk about some of the verification methods. But most importantly, buy drinks from trusted stores.

So, important tips at the choice of cognac for a gift

1. First of all, it is the price. Buy cognac that matches the prosperity of the hero of the occasion and your financial situation. After all, if we give an expensive cognac to a poor person, we thereby put him in an awkward position. This is especially true when the gifted person must make you a return present of about the same value.

2. Pay attention to competence. If the person being gifted is poorly versed in cognac, then all your expenses and efforts to choose a drink may be wasted. Therefore, before buying, try to find out about the competence of the person in this area. Of course, you can go to the store and buy a collectible bottle of some famous brand... But, it will not be very pleasant if your gift is not appreciated.

3. Pay attention to the packaging of the gift. Gift cognac should be packed in a beautiful box or original bottle, suitable for the occasion... Take this choice seriously, because packaging is an essential attribute of a gift drink.

Remember that a gift is judged emotionally first, so a beautifully wrapped gift will make the right impression. Situations are not excluded that your gift will be transferred to another person and will be remembered only by packaging, and not exquisite taste drink.

4. Purchase an addition to the main gift. For a smoking man, in addition to cognac, you can choose a small set of good cigars, for a non-smoker - cognac glasses. If you are giving cognac to a woman, you can add a beautiful box of chocolates, a tile expensive chocolate or a can of coffee.

Please note that additions in the form of snacks (cheese, fruits, etc.) will be inappropriate if you do not plan to open the gift right away and drink it with the hero of the day.

Be sure to think over how you will give cognac, take into account the character of the person and the situation.

Buying a gift for a man is not easy, especially if you do not know a person's habits and preferences. In this case, it is appropriate to donate cognac. But the choice of drink will have to be taken very seriously. Choosing a good cognac as a gift for a man is a whole science. Take your time to take the first bottle you come across from the shelf. First, learn a few important rules.

Place of purchase

An adult should understand that good brandies are not sold in a small shop near the train station or on the market square. For a serious purchase, you should go to the company store. Ideally, this should be a specialized a storewhere they don't scurry drinking people looking for a cheap bottle of vodka.

Although no, perfect purchase can be done by going to France, in the areas where branded cognacs are produced. But there are other options as well.

Purchase price

A bottle of cognac in can be cheap. In principle, good cognacs are never cheap. It's all about technology and manufacturing traditions. To market 1 liter of cognac or brandy, the manufacturer needs to use 10 liters grape wine, and spend several years of precious time. All this is very costly.

Cheap alcoholic drinks can be infused with oak sawdust instead of barrel aging. They can also be made from a mixture of grape and grain alcohol. All this affects the quality, although it significantly reduces the cost of production. You should not buy such drinks as a gift.

The most dangerous option is to buy a cheap counterfeit. In this case, you not only wasted your money, but you can also cause irreparable damage to your health.

How to distinguish a fake

Thinking about which cognac to buy as a gift for a man, pay attention to the little things:

• Consider cork, which can be cork, special silicone material, or compacted sawdust. If the bottle is closed with a metal screw cap, then this is a product low quality or fake.
• Consider a cork shell. It should fit tightly around the neck of the bottle, without frowning anywhere.
• The bottle itself can only be glass. Strong alcohol reacts with plastic to release harmful substances.
• Consider the label. It should be glued perfectly evenly, without displacement.
• Examine the label. It has full information about the composition, production date and manufacturer. Moreover, all this should be written without errors.
• See how pasted excise stamp... It always sits on top of the label.
• Turn the bottle over. Good cognac will leave a mark on the walls, and a few heavy drops will fall from the bottom.
• The color of the drink in the bottle can range from light brown to dark brown, but the contents are always clear.

If you are going to make a birthday present for a man, it is better to choose cognac in a curly bottle. By complicating the production of containers, the manufacturer reinsures itself against counterfeiting. It is much easier to pour a counterfeit into ordinary bottles than to order a batch of special containers.

Origin of the drink

Imagine that you are standing in front of a store counter and want to choose a good cognac as a gift for a man. But there are so many bottles that your eyes simply run up. This is where information about the origin of the drink comes in handy. In fact, only those drinks that are produced in France have the right to call cognacs. In this country, the production of alcohol is treated with great respect. Besides that the quality is strictly controlled by the state, well-known trade marks compete with each other and maintain their own reputation.

Drinks produced in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia are grape brandy... Among them, there are also decent options, but you need to carefully read the information on the labels. Of these options, Armenian and Georgian alcohol is most often chosen. from these countries are worthy of the attention of connoisseurs. Some even think that Armenian brands are no worse than "Courvoisier VSOP", for example. But in this matter, everyone has their own taste.

Determining the brand

It is advisable to buy a good cognac as a gift for a man from well-known manufacturers. Such a gift will be appreciated. The industry leaders are Hennessy, Rémy Martin, Courvoisier, Martell, Bisquit, Camus, Augier and Delamain.

If you want to choose a gift from an Armenian or Georgian manufacturer, then you will not be ashamed of a bottle of "Ani", "Noah", "Ararat", "Egrisi", "Armazi". These exquisite aged drinks will not disappoint the hero of the occasion or business partner.

Official classification of the extract: France

The price of cognac directly depends on the aging of the drink. Extract is called infusion in barrels of grape alcohol. The time that the drink stood in the bottle after spilling is no longer taken into account.

They have their own classification of excerpts. Mysterious letters are placed on the front label, which are deciphered as follows:

• V.S. - cognacs aged in barrels for at least 2 years.
• Superior - 3 years old.
• V.S.O.P. - 4 years in an oak barrel.
• V.V.S.O.P. - the drink has matured for at least 5 years.
• X.O. - drink aging from 6 years and above.

Thus, if you have a bottle of Courvoisier VSOP in your hands, then you have bought a cognac that has been aged for 4 years in an oak barrel.

If the manufacturer achieves a special taste by the blending method, then the age of the cognac will be considered according to the youngest alcohol.

In the post-Soviet space, its own was adopted. By the way, manufacturers, no matter what, persistently use the word "cognac" on the labels. This alcoholic beverage produced in three types: ordinary, vintage and collection. Ordinary cognacs are assigned asterisks (each asterisk is a year of aging).

The classification of vintage cognacs is more complicated:

• KV (aged cognac) - aging time 6-7 years.
• KVVK (aged cognac highest quality) - the age of the drink is 8-9 years.
• KS (old cognac) - aging 10 years.
• OS (very old) - a drink over 12 years old.

The aging period was determined for 23 years or more.

How to arrange a gift

And the last question: "How unusual is it to pack a bottle of cognac as a gift for a man?" And does it need to be packaged at all?

It all depends on your taste. A good cognac itself has a presentable appearance. It can be put in a narrow gift bag and that will be enough. Or you can pick up cognac in a gift box to look more solid. But keep in mind, drinks in gift boxes are significantly more expensive, not because of the quality, but precisely because of the packaging.

If you are giving a gift to a good friend and want to play a joke, then you can glue a box out of high-quality cardboard, for example, in the form of a milk bag, and sign that there is milk.

If you choose a good cognac as a gift for a man on a significant date or special occasion, then you can make a seal from wax, writing on it how many years your gift can be opened, and tie the seal to the neck with a harsh thread.