Hey all — I’m Dan, currently working in marketing at a historic (and slightly under-the-radar) cognac house. I've been following this subreddit for a while, and thought it might be time to give something back.

I’m not here to pitch. Just to share some behind-the-scenes perspective and help answer the questions that come up here all the time — like:

— Is Grande Champagne actually better, or just fancier-sounding?
— Why do some bottles cost $50 and others $5,000 — and is the gap real?
— What’s the deal with age statements (or the lack thereof)?
— Does “VSOP” even mean anything consistent anymore?
— How do smaller houses survive next to the Big Four?
— Are there additives? (Spoiler: sometimes, yes).
— What would an insider drink if they weren’t on the clock?

If you’ve ever found yourself staring at a bottle of XO, wondering whether it’s magic or marketing — I probably have a story.

Happy to answer anything — from grape to bottle, or from pricing to packaging. And if you've got an old dusty Croizet bottle from your grandfather’s attic... I might even recognise it.

Cheers,
Dan (marketing @ Croizet, based in Cognac)

I had a premature 30th celebration with some friends last night, and thought my eyes deceived me when I saw a bottle of Louis XIII at the top shelf of the hotel bar. I’ve been dreaming of trying this for years and figured it might happen at my 50th or something, when I’d paid off the house. Asking the price of a glass I dismayed at my working class salary, but quickly realized they’d quoted the price for a 4cl. I asked if they’d do me a 1cl pour and the bartender happily brought the bottle down. I’ve never paid more for such a small glass of anything, but I’ve also never savored every last drop of a glass this much in my entire life, and I wanted to share this glorious memory with people who’ll understand. I’m happy to say it was hands down the greatest Cognac I’ve ever tried. The overall experience made it a perfect 100/100 for me.

Honest opinion about the collection

I was going to go for the Kelt XO and the clerk referred me to this instead, never had it before. Is this the best Cognac I've ever had? Because it's delicious.

It was a life long goal of mine. I’m grateful to have had the experience.

This sub is now mainly people posting old bottles they’ve found and asking for prices when the answer is normally easily found on google. There needs to be more moderation on these posts or at least another subreddit.

Martell xo the 1.5L bottle. $150 from $600+. Why on earth would they feel the need to do this?

Honestly I usually mix hennes and Grand Marnier but wanna try something worthy and too cheap for some xo cause I know I can’t just drink one glass

This is pure nostalgia for me... I used to drink it while smoking cigars with my father and friends in the mid 2000s.

Every once in a while, I'd type it into google and see if anything came up. Missed an auction bottle a few years ago. But earlier this month, after nearly a decade of randomly googling it, a dusty showed up online from a small shop in Miami.

I was worried it didn't really exist. No pictures, no information. But I called them, and after some back and forth they confirmed they had it.

And it's the magnum! And they had the original stoppers!

At first, It didn't seem like they'd ship to Vegas, so I was calling people I knew in Miami to see who could take local delivery and then I'd figure out how to get it.

The effort wasn't needed.... a slightly expensive shipping price later, and nearly 2 weeks wait, and it arrived in perfect condition outside of some packing foam dust.

Now to wait until this weekend and to have a drink on my 48th birthday and see how well it holds up to memory.

Sippin the 1738 neat while on a LV vacation. Stay thirsty my friends 🍷