A few years ago, I wanted to broaden my horizons and seek out the perfect brandy even though I had no clue what that was. I was looking for a bottle that had all the same characteristics of good scotch, bourbon, and mezcal…spirits I love. At that time, the brandies on American shelves were, frankly, quite boring. While casual drinkers likely don’t mind low ABVs, cryptic labels, and campy marketing, those traits don’t lure in spirits nerds. We want proof, details, and credibility. So, when I saw the Daniel Bouju Royal, I did a double take. Daniel Bouju was alien to me. The bottle wasn’t flashy or trying to be something it wasn’t; it was informative and honest. “Cognac,” “Grande Champagne,” “Brut de Frut (cask strength),” “non filtre!” And oh, the spirit was dark. Any sherry cask loving scotch drinker knows the magnetism of a dark spirit. The Royal stood taller than the rest of the cognacs on the shelf…so I bought it. The bottle has been open for a while and has changed with air, but the core remains relatively the same. Onto the deets…
House: Daniel Bouju (“DB”). DB is located in Grande Champagne and is a producer (they grow, distill, age, and bottle their cognac). The DB family has been distilling since the early 1800s but they didn’t start selling cognac under their own name until the 1970s. Francois Bouju currently runs the family business. Most of DB’s grapes are grown in Saint-Preuil, an area known for its good soil as well as hills that provide more sun exposure and drainage. DB has been distilling cognac on the same still since 1969. DB ages their cognac in 350-liter Limousin oak casks and prefers a heavy toast (perhaps a char?), as opposed to most cognac producers who prefer a light toast. DB states that they leave new distillate in unused oak casks longer than other producers, from around a year to several years, and that the use of new oak is what contributes to DB’s dark color.
http://nextstopcognac.com/en/cognac-producers/grande-champagne/daniel-bouju
The color of DB’s spirit is, to a certain extent, a source of mild controversy. DB states that there are no additives in their bottlings, including sugar and caramel coloring. Further, DB is known to be an advocate of the "Production Artisanale,” i.e. artisanal production. Like Richard Seale’s (Foursquare) push with rum classifications and identification of additives, DB has been on the vanguard of the anti-additive movement in cognac. But the sheer darkness of the Royal, which is supposedly a 15-year cognac, definitely raises some red flags. Consider George T. Stagg, which is aged in the hot Kentucky climate and doesn’t reach the darkness levels the Royal does. So, what’s the deal?
A 2013 discussion on Sku’s blog provides some insight. David OG from K&L Wines stated that European oak imparts darker tannins than American oak, and that coupled with prolonged use of new, heavily toasted oak could produce a very dark spirit like DB. Towards the end of the discussion, an anonymous poster stated that she vacationed near the DB estate and learned from Francois Bouju that the distillation he was involved with (25 years in 2013) did not contain additives, but that some of the very old cognac distilled by his father and grandfather potentially could have additives. Francois Bouju pointed out that the governing body that creates and enforces cognac regulations did not exist when his grandfather was distilling cognac. So, potentially, the younger DB cognac (like the Royal I’m reviewing) does not contain caramel coloring, while perhaps some older bottlings do. Here’s the link to the discussion:
http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2013/01/daniel-bouju-cognac.html
The information provided here is from internet sources so take that into consideration (FAKE NEWS?!?!?). Hopefully, in the future I’ll have the opportunity to speak to Francois Bouju and learn about his spirit first-hand.
Notes
Nose: California Raisins©, vanilla, cigar box, molasses
Palate: It’s a thick and sweet (but not cloying). It’s also got a bite but its not hot by any means. Ghirardelli raspberry squares, black licorice, maple syrup, Demerara rum. Some bitter notes (like coffee) slip in.
Finish: long and the sweetness slowly recedes.
Thoughts: I’m going to give this cognac two grades, and what applies depends on what you like. If you like Demerara rum, this is an A-. To me, there are similarities to some of the Velier rums from Guyana; in fact, my buddy who is a huge fan of Guyana went out and bought a bottle of the Royal after trying it. While I like Demerara rum, its not one of my favorites. So, for people that aren’t huge Demerara fans, I’d say this is B+ cognac – it's tasty and a quality spirit but the sweetness may be a little amplified. I think, like the Louis Pibious L’Encantada Armagnacs, this would be a good introductory cognac for bourbon drinkers.
Grade:
A- (Demerara rum fans)
B+ (not so Demerara rum fans)
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