An American pilgrimage into French spirits

As I explore spirits, there's usually a path to follow when my tastes shift and I look for something "new and interesting." As I've moved into the world of French spirits, particularly cognac, the path hasn't been as clear. While some trailblazers have documented their sojourn through cognac, a lot of the online material about cognac is doused with self-promotion and marketing gobbledygook. 

So considering the dearth of cognac resources, I'm creating a blog that I hope will act as a resource for fellow spirits enthusiasts that are interested in cognac. I'll post reviews of cognac and also dive into the process and sift out what's fact from mythos. What can be added to cognac and who is adding what? Does terroir really matter with cognac or is it marketing babble used to up-sell products? Why don't they release more barrel proof options (and what is barrel proof for cognac anyways)? Does a fancy decanter make cognac taste better or is it just intended to make the drinker feel better? The answer to the last question is pretty self explanatory.  

I'm new to all of this and learning, probably just like you! I’ll be gathering my information from various sources and providing citations where specific information is provided. I'll also be approaching this blog from a whisky drinkers perspective. Please feel free to correct any mistakes or misinformation. I also expect my buddy Ryan to chime in from time-to-time with his take on bottles. As for other resources, I'll post links. I also highly recommend you join SKU's "Serious Brandy" Facebook page - SKU has been leading the charge for spirits nerds when it comes to brandy.

My grading system is in line with most:

A+ transcendent
A must buy
A- probably want to buy
B+ very good and odds are you'll like it 
B daily drinker, looking for value here and you might want to try before buying
B- could live without - probably niche drinker
C+ definitely a niche drinker and most will not like
C flawed brandy
C- seriously flawed brandy with maybe one or two redeeming traits
D why did they put this in a bottle
E rotgut booze, made to fuel cars  

One final note - there may be some fluctuations in grades, i.e. I may rate something a B and later change it to a B + or B - depending on how the bottle develops. Booze evolves after its been open and I want to focus on the consistency of a bottle (if reviewing an entire bottle). So, if something gets better (or I change my mind after the new car smell wears off) I want to document that.