Cognac

The drink received its name on behalf of the city of Cognac ( French Cognac ), the Poitou region - Charente , Charente department, France . With the surroundings and the city of Cognac itself, the appearance of this alcoholic drink is connected.

The geographical boundaries of the area where cognac production is allowed, the production technology and the name “Cognac” are strictly defined, regulated and fixed by numerous legislative acts. Cognac is an original French product.

Strong drinks from other countries, as well as drinks made in France outside the Charente region, even if they are obtained by distillation of grape wines produced in the Poitou-Charente region , are not entitled to be called cognac on the international market, such drinks are called brandy .

In the USSR and post-Soviet countries

In the USSR, brandy was called any brandy produced using technology close to the production technology of real cognac.

In the territory of the former USSR, the most popular were Armenian (factories belonging to Shustov in Yerevan and Odessa ), Kizlyar ^{[1] [2]} , Georgian and Moldavian brandies.

In accordance with the current legislation of the Russian Federation, cognac is an alcoholic drink with an ethyl alcohol content of at least 40 percent of the finished product (except for cognac with a protected geographical indication, cognac with a protected name of place of origin, collection cognac), which is made from cognac distillates obtained fractional distillation (distillation) of wine materials made from grapes and aged in oak barrels or oak buttes or in contact with oak wood not m it three years. Cognac with a protected geographical indication, cognac with a protected appellation of origin, collection cognac must have an ethyl alcohol content of at least 37.5 percent of the finished product. Cognac distillate, the aging of which is more than five years, is aged in oak barrels or oak butams. Cognac, the aging of which is more than five years, is made from cognac distillates that have passed the full production cycle of distillates (clause 10.1 of Article 2 of the Federal Law of November 22, 1995 N 171-ФЗ "On state regulation of the production and turnover of ethyl alcohol, alcohol and alcohol-containing products and on the restriction of the consumption (drinking) of alcoholic products ").

As reported on February 16, 2018, the Russian media “Fifth Channel”, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Gennady Khloponin proposed to ban the branding of colored alcohol as cognac. ^{[ significance of fact? ]} “Everything that is called cognac in Russia when they say that it is Armenian, Dagestan, Moldavian, Georgian, of course, it’s not really cognac, it’s brandy, they belong to this large category of“ brandy ”, just like cognac. Therefore, of course, all cognacs can be brandy, but not all brandy is cognac, because cognac is produced only in the Cognac region in France, ”said Eric Steinbrunn, brand ambassador of the Courvoisier brand, to Channel Five. ^{[ significance of fact? ]}

In the XII century , at the behest of Guillaume X , the Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony , Count of Poitiers, several large vineyards were created in the Poitou-Charentes region , called the Poitou vineyards.

The city of Cognac , known since the XI century as a major center for the sale of salt, also received Dutch ships that transported salt from France to the countries of Northern Europe. In addition to salt, the Dutch captured on board and barrels of local wine from the Poitou vineyards, which began to be in constant demand. Success in the sale of wines contributed to the beginning of the expansion of the Poitou vineyards to the regions of Sentong and Angumua . It is believed that these facts laid the foundation for the mass planting of vineyards and the production of wines in the Charente River basin.

In 1453, the Hundred Years War ended, the British were driven out of the mainland, and Charente lost a fairly large market for its wines. Winemaking is in decline. Vineyards are cut down and a forest is planted in their place. At this time, the names of the future sub-regions of Bons Bois , Fins Bois and Bois Ordiner appear.

In addition to salt and wines from Poitou-Charentes, Dutch ships called at the ports of Charentes for local wines from the Champagne and Borderies vineyards. In the 16th century , due to the overproduction of wine, they become worse in quality and alcohol content, which makes it impossible for them to be transported by sea for long periods to the countries of Northern Europe. That's when the Dutch begin to install their new distillation devices and try to distill local wines into brandwijn or “burnt wine” - an analogue of the future brandy . After transportation by sea, brandwijn was diluted with water to recreate, as intended, the same original wine.

At the beginning of the 17th century , new technologies and a new product, wine distillate, which, when transported by sea, no longer changed its qualities, appeared on the farms of Poitou-Charentes. Wine distillate is more saturated and aromatic than wine, and its transportation is several times cheaper. The first distillation apparatuses installed by the visiting Dutchs gradually became more advanced, and the French themselves mastered the distillation technology much better than the creators, improving it by producing the first double distillation. Due to unpleasant delays for shipowners when loading vessels, it turned out that the wine distillate improves its qualities while in oak barrels, and that it can be consumed undiluted.

Starting from the end of the XVII century and especially from the beginning of the XVIII century, trade begins to take on more and more organized forms. In response to the emerging demand for goods and services, intermediary firms, mostly Anglo-Saxon, are being established in the main cities of the region. Some of them have existed to date. Intermediary firms purchase the produced wine distillate, provide intermediary services for related industries, and enter into contracts with regular customers from Central and Northern Europe, North America and the Far East .

Since the middle of the 19th century , numerous trading houses have been opened in Cognac and other large cities of the region, which begin to ship grape spirit not in barrels, as before, but in bottles. This new form of trade contributes to the creation of related industries, such as: the production of glass (since 1885, Claude Boucher has been mechanizing the production of bottles at the San Martan de Cognac factory), the production of packaging boxes, corks from bark of cork and printed products. The area of ​​rapidly expanding vineyards in Charente reaches 280 thousand hectares.

In the 1870s , large troubles were brought to Charente from North America, along with native vines: root aphids ( Daktulosphaira vitifoliae ), or phylloxera , and a microscopic parasitic fungus ( Plasmopara viticola ), or mildew , which were destroyed in a few years most of the vineyards in Europe are not immune to such pests. By 1893, the area occupied by vineyards in Charente, amounted to only 40 thousand hectares. In 1888 , as the operational headquarters for resolving the problem, the “Viticulture Committee” was created, which already in 1892 was transformed into the “Viticulture Technological Station”. French breeders began to mix native American grape varieties resistant to phylloxera and mildew with French varieties. Thus, many new varieties were created, which were named after their creator with the assignment of a conditional serial (technical) number. Later, some of the most successful varieties were given personal names. The restoration of the vineyards and the economy of the region took more than a dozen years.

The traditional French grape varieties used in cognac production and weakened by American stocks (fo blanche, colombard , montil ...) are gradually being replaced with vines of the more resistant to disease and weather conditions grape variety trebbiano , known in France under the name uni blanc ( Ugni Blanc ). At present, it is Uni Blanc that provides more than 90% of cognac production. On May 1, 1909, the geographic marking of the cognac production area is made, and since 1936, cognac is legally approved and protected as the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (controlled name by origin).

During the Second World War, a special bureau was created in Charente to control the production and sale of wines and cognac spirits in order to preserve stocks, which after the liberation of France will be renamed the " National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognac ." The aforementioned Vinogradar Technological Station became part of the Bureau in 1948, thereby completing the formation of one of the most powerful professional organizations in France.

Russian Cognac at the World's Fair (1900)

There is a story that at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris, a citizen of the Russian Empire Nikolai Shustov anonymously presented for evaluation samples of products belonging to his cognac factories in Yerevan and Odessa . Experts awarded this brandy first place ^{[3] [4]} , and after the cognac producer was discovered incognito, Nikolai Shustov received permission to call his product the word “Cognac” - a privilege that no other foreign manufacturer had in France before ^{[4] [5] [6]} . However, the existence of such a privilege is called into question; it is possible that history is the fiction of Shustov himself, known for using large-scale, inventive and aggressive advertising ^[7] . Although “Shustov and Sons” was indeed a Grand-prix winner in the class “Sirops et liqueurs; spiritueux divers; alcools d'industrie ” ^[8] , some sources note that the first Shustov cognac to receive any international awards was“ Fin-Champagne Selected ”, which appeared in 1901 ^[9] .

The main white grape variety from which brandy is made is trebbiano (uni blanc), a slowly ripening variety with high acidity , high yield and disease resistance (in particular, gray rot and phylloxera ). In addition to uni blanc, farms, to a somewhat lesser extent, are cultivated and used in the production of cognac varieties of fo blanche , colombard and montil . They give more aromatic and taste-rich alcohols than uni blanc, but are very difficult to grow. Harvesting on farms usually occurs in October.

Immediately after harvesting, the grape juice begins to spin . When squeezing juice, horizontal pneumatic presses are traditionally used, which do not crush the seeds of berries. The use of screw presses is prohibited by law. ^{[ specify ]} . Squeezed grape juice is then sent to fermentation . The addition of sugar (or shaptalization ) during fermentation is prohibited by law. ^{[ specify ]} . Like the whole production process, the extraction and fermentation are carefully controlled, since they play a decisive role in the final quality of brandy alcohol . Fermentation lasts for about three weeks, after which wines with high acidity and containing 9% alcohol are sent for distillation .

The process of distillation of fermented grape wine takes place in a traditional “Charente distillation cube”, consisting of an extraction boiler heated up over open fire (coal or gas sources of fire), a boiler cap in the shape of an “onion”, and a tube bent in the form of a “swan neck”, which then transforms into a coil passing through the cooler. The distillation process itself consists of two stages:

• The first stage is the production of a primary base distillate, the so-called crude alcohol (French première chauffe ), with a strength of about 27–32%. Small producers distill the wine "on the lees", that is, without filtering, thereby obtaining raw alcohol with the maximum amount of aromatic and taste components, which is subsequently transferred to the character of the future cognac;
• The 2nd stage is the sending of crude alcohol to secondary distillation to obtain the already basic high-quality cognac alcohol (French bonne chauffe ). In the second stage of distillation, the experience and mastery of the “master of distillation”, which bears responsibility for the correct selection of the first, second and third fractions of the distillate, fully opens. It is the second fraction, with a strength of 68–72% alcohol, that goes for further aging in oak barrels and becomes cognac.

According to law ^{[ specify ]} , brandy alcohol, in order to be called cognac, must be aged in oak barrels for at least two years. The maximum age of cognac aging is not limited by law ^{[ specify ]} . But, as practice shows, aging of cognac in a barrel for more than 70 years no longer affects its character, and the changes that occur with it are insignificant. Oak , as a material for the manufacture of barrels, was selected because of its strength, fine grain structure and high extractive qualities. Barrels for cognac, with a volume of 270 to 450 liters, are still made manually from oak trunks growing in the forests of Tronso and Limousin , at least 80 years old. Tronsey oak is characterized by a coarse-grained soft tannin structure, while the Limousin oak is characterized by a medium-grained, hard and high-tannic structure. In the manufacture of barrels, they are burned from the inside to soften the structure of the tree, thereby increasing its extractive qualities. There are several levels of barrel firing, depending on the needs of the manufacturer. It is interesting that after firing, the inner surface of the barrel is covered with a layer of burnt sugar - modified under the influence of the temperature of glucose in the tree structure. After filling the barrels with future cognac is placed in the cellar for subsequent aging or "ripening".

During the first years of aging, the properties of cognac alcohol change, extraction of tannins , lignin , reducing sugars, and, to a lesser extent, amino acids , lipids , volatile acids and oils, resins, and enzymes is extracted . Cognac alcohol acquires a golden color and is filled with wood-vanilla aromas . Over time, the cognac becomes darker in color, softer and rounder, many shades appear in the aroma and taste, including notes of flowers, fruits and spices. The natural humidity of the cellar also has a great effect on future brandy. The lower the humidity in the cellar, the more structurally cognac becomes, the higher the humidity of the cellar, the more cognac becomes softer and rounder over the years. During aging, a significant part of the alcohol evaporates through the pores of the tree - the so-called "share of angels" ( French Part des anges ). The "Share of Angels" is the equivalent of more than twenty million bottles per year. Interestingly, these "losses" serve as a breeding ground for microscopic fungi, Torula compniacensis , which cover the walls of the cellar, giving them a characteristic black color.

If cognac, in the opinion of the “cellar master”, reaches a peak in its development, it is poured from barrels into glass bottles, the so-called “ladies” (French Dames-Jeanne ), corked and placed in the most remote cellar place, where they can be stored for decades without changes - this is a "paradise" place (French Paradis ).

In most cases, cognac is obtained by assembling (or mixing) cognac spirits of different years of aging. Moreover, the exposure of the final product is determined by the minimum exposure time of the components. In the mass production of cognac, assembly allows you to maintain its identical organoleptic properties, regardless of the quality of the grape harvest. There are also cognacs indicating the specific age of aging and indicating the year of harvest. The production of cognac with an indication of the harvest year, or millesimny , is under the special control of the National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognac .

Strict standards , including the system of control over the age of cognacs, are established by the National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognac .

Consumers can learn about the age of cognac by the special designations on the bottle labels . All the periods indicated in the classification mean that each of the spirits included in this cognac has a aging period of at least that indicated. The aging period is "considered" from the morning of April 1, following the official termination of the distillation of wine from this crop. “Account”, or control of cognac’s age, starts at “00” and ends at “6”. The first three “accounts” are not taken into account in the table of the age category, because they are an intermediate link in the technological process of production. According to the legislation, the minimum age of cognac, which has the right to go on sale, is 2 years of aging in an oak barrel or on the “account 2”:

• Account 00: is a distillation account (through March 31);
• Account 0: starts on April 1, after the end of the distillation;
• Account 1: the first year of aging cognac in an oak barrel;
• Account 2: VS ( Very Special ), Selection , de Luxe , Trois Etoiles - at least 2 years;
• Score 3: Superior - at least 3 years;
• Account 4: VSOP ( Very Superior Old Pale ), VO ( Very Old ), Vieux , Reserve - at least 4 years;
• Account 5: VVSOP ( Very Very Superior Old Pale ), Grande Reserve - at least 5 years;
• Score 6: XO ( Extra Old ), Extra , Napoleon , Royal , Tres Vieux , Vieille Reserve Braastad - at least 6 years.

This list contains the most common category designations, although in a legislative decision authorized by the Government of France at the "National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognac" dated August 23, 1983, they are written much more for each "account".

The classification of cognacs with aging (the youngest alcohols) for more than 6.5 years is prohibited by the Bureau, which believes that it is impossible to control the blending processes for more than 6.5 years.

It should be noted that the names Extra , Napoleon , Grand Reserve do not mean the name ( brand ) of brandy, but the brand in the classification.

Like any other national product, French law defines, regulates and protects cognac , including the technological process of its production, by the following legislative acts:

• The decree of May 1, 1909 clearly defines, regulates and secures:
  • The territorial boundaries of cognac production, including the existing regional appellations “cognac”, “o-de-vi-de-cognac” and “o-de-vi-des-Charentes”, as “Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée”. Appellation covers a large part of the territory of the departments of Charente , Charente-Maritime and several settlements in the departments of Dordogne and Deux Sevres . The total area of ​​the appellation, enshrined in the Decree, is more than a million hectares, but the vineyards themselves occupy a little more than 78 thousand hectares in it;
• The decree of August 19, 1921 clearly defines, regulates and secures:
  • The ban on making any additives in the production of cognac, with the exception of:
    • Decrease in alcohol content with distilled or demineralized water;
    • Adding sugar, caramel, infusion on oak chips (regulated%).
• The decree of May 15, 1936 clearly defines, regulates and secures:
  • Regional appellations "cognac", "o-de-vi de cognac" and "o-de-vi de des Charentes";
  • Fine Champagne category as Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée;
  • The main grape varieties from which brandy is to be made are Uni Blanc , Folle Blanche , Colombard , Montille , Juranson Blanc , Semillon , Mesli Saint-Francois . As well as varieties of Folignan and select , the ratio of which in assemblages should be no more than 10% of the main ones;
  • Prohibition of the addition of sugar during the vinification of grape juice in the departments of Charente and Seaside Charente. In the Primorsky Charente department, manufacturers need additional documentation of sugar non-use at the “National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognac”;
  • When grapes are pressed, the use of the Archimedes screw is prohibited (the so-called continuous pressing);
  • According to traditional technology, in the distillation of wine, the "Charente method" includes two stages: obtaining "raw alcohol" and re-distillation;
  • Permission to use only the traditional “Charente” distillation cube, with a total capacity of not more than 30 hectoliters, of which 25 hectoliters are supplied for reheating;
  • The maximum permitted strength obtained by distillation is 72%. at 15 ° C;
  • The deadline for distillation is March 31 of the year following the harvest year;
  • The strength of cognac when sold in France and abroad should not exceed 40%. Additional conditions are provided only with the permission of the “National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognac”;
• The decree of January 13, 1938 clearly defines the territorial boundaries of sub- regional production zones with settlements as the “Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée”. The following seven appellations (subregions or cru - six) “or items controlled by origin ” are enshrined in the decision. They basically coincide with the names of the subregions:
  • Cognac (Cognac) is the name that any official brandy manufacturer in this region can put on its label
  • Grande Champagne (Grand Champagne) or Grande Fine Champagne (Grand Fin Champagne)
  • Petite Champagne (Petite Champagne) or Fine Petite Champagne (Fin Petite Champagne)
  • Borderies
  • Fins Bois (Feng Bois)
  • Bons Bois
  • Bois ordinaires (Bois Ordiner)

The Fine Champagne category requires special explanation. The term Fine is used in the meaning of Genre , that is, spirits produced in the respective appellations. The full phrase means that cognac is made from both Gran and Petit Champagne grapes, and the share of Gran Champagne cognac must be at least half. It should also be added that cognac from the Bois ordinaires subregion (Bois Ordiner) can only be sold under the Cognac appellation (Cognac).

Cognac spirits of each subregion have their own distinctive features. Using these features when mixing allows cognac masters to achieve certain properties of the final product. Cognac made from alcohols of grapes from different subregions, goes on sale only under the appellation Cognac (Cognac).

• The decree of July 27, 2003 clearly defines, regulates and secures:
  • Cognac must be aged exclusively in cellars certified by the "National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognac", which also gives the right to certify the immediate future drink. Only the Bureau, according to the law, can issue documents for subsequent export operations;
  • Cognac must be aged in oak barrels of two categories, depending on the traditions of the manufacturer: from Limousin “stone” oak (French Limousin ) and / or Tronsey “oak” (French Tronçais );
  • Accounting and control of the age of cognac is carried out by the only state body - the “National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognac”;
  • The minimum aging of cognac before it goes on sale is two years (or 24 months from the end of the distillation).

• Champagne is a clay and chalky thin soil lying on top of the soft Cretaceous layer of the Cretaceous period. From the surface of the soil inland, the limestone content becomes very high and reaches, in some places, 60 percent. The layer of clay montmorillonite , due to its properties, gives the local soils a good structure and a sufficient supply of water to feed the vines. Despite the subtlety, the soils of two Crus Champagne do not suffer from a lack of water, since the subsoils are a giant sponge through which water can slowly rise to the surface on dry days:
  • Grande Champagne Appellation Contrôlée - vineyards occupy about 13,159 hectares of the subregion. Cognac made from grapes harvested in this subregion has a light, delicate aroma with dominant floral tones and a high aging potential;
  • Petite Champagne Appellation Contrôlée - vineyards occupy about 15,246 hectares of the subregion. Cognac made from grapes harvested in this subregion has a delicate, but more dense aroma with dominant fruit tones and a high aging potential.
• Borderies Appellation Contrôlée - is the smallest sub-region of Cognac . Bordery soils contain a large percentage of clay and silicon formed from the decomposition of limestone. Lying northeast of Cognac, the subregion covers about 3,987 hectares of vineyards, from the vines of which produce beautiful round and soft cognacs, with pronounced tones of violets. The cognacs produced in Borderi achieve optimum quality after a shorter period of maturation than the cognacs of the two Champagne subregions.
• Fins Bois Appellation Contrôlée - most of this subregion consists of clay, chalky soils, known as “groies”, which are very similar to the soils of two Champagne cruisers, with the exception of interspersing red rocky layers of the Jurassic period. Located on the “poor lands” north of Cognac, the soil of this Crew alternate with heavier clay layers that can reach 60 percent. The vineyards of the subregion occupy about 31,000 hectares. The grapes harvested in Feng Bois produce round, soft cognacs that grow very quickly and are distinguished by tones that resemble the aroma of freshly squeezed grape juice.
• Bons Bois Appellation Contrôlée - the soils of this subregion are coastal sandy clay, and in their southern part more sandy. It is in these places that sand accumulates, washed away by soil erosion from the Central Massif. Vineyards here, to a greater extent than in the above subregions, are interspersed with other eco-zones: pastures, pine and chestnut forests. The territory of this subregion forms a kind of vast ring, occupying 372,053 hectares, and only 9,308 hectares, whose territories are regulated for the production of cognac.
• Bois à Terroir или Bois Ordinaires Appellation Contrôlée — в этом субрегионе, охватывающем 260 417 гектаров, всего лишь менее 1 101 гектаров находятся под виноградниками, регламентированными для производства коньяка. Континентальные песчаные почвы, расположенные вдоль океана, а также регламентированные территории на островах Ре и Олерон, рождают виноградные спирты, которые быстро достигают зрелости и имеют ярко выраженный оттенок терруарности.

Согласно законодательным актам, следующая информация, в обязательном порядке, должна присутствовать на лицевой и/или контрэтикетке бутылки с коньяком:

• Наименование ( Cognac, Eau-de-vie de Cognac, Eau-de-vie des Charentes );
• Ёмкость ( согласно Директиве Парламента и Совета ЕС 75/106/ЕЭС от 19 января 1974 года о сближении законодательства государств-членов, касающихся предварительной расфасовки по объёму жидкостей );
• Крепость (в % об.) должна быть указана в поле зрения на лицевой или контрэтикетке);
• Юридическое название, адрес производителя или предприятия по розливу, зарегистрированного внутри Европейского сообщества ( согласно Директиве Парламента и Совета ЕС 2000/13/EC от 20 марта 2000 года по сближению законодательств государств-членов в отношении маркировки, внешнего вида и рекламы пищевых продуктов );
• Обязательное указание апелласьона принадлежности, как то Fine Champagne Appellation Contrôlée, Grande Champagne Appellation Contrôlée, Petite Champagne Appellation Contrôlée и т. д.

Употребление напитка зависит от его свойств, коньяки подразделяются на мягкие и более терпкие. В настоящее время уже сложно говорить о традициях употребления коньяка, ибо время стремительно всё меняет. До недавнего времени традиционным бокалом для коньяка считался «снифтер» (от английского глагола to sniff — нюхать, вдыхать носом) или шарообразный бокал, зауженный кверху, с большой чашей (180—240 мл) и короткой ножкой. Этот бокал держали в ладони, согревая коньяк её теплом, вращали коньяк по стенкам чаши и наслаждались его ароматами, погружая нос в бокал. Но время внесло свои коррективы, и в настоящее время более традиционным бокалом уже считается « тюльпан » или бокал с чашей в форме закрытого (или раскрытого) бутона тюльпана, ёмкостью порядка 140 мл, на высокой ножке. Этот бокал держат за ножку, как винный бокал, вращают коньяк по стенкам чаши, позволяя ему активно «дышать» кислородом, и наслаждаются ароматами коньяка через узкий «выход» бокала. Коньяк не охлаждают и не подогревают, оптимальная температура подачи коньяка — комнатная .

Французы же закрепили и традиционность сочетания коньяка, как дижестива, а именно, что он сочетается с тремя «С» — это шоколад (фр. chocolat ), кофе (фр. café ) и сигара (фр. cigare ). Американцы же как представители крупнейшего рынка потребителей коньяка также привнесли свои особенности его употребления, но уже как аперитива перед едой в сочетании с тоником . В основном они добавляют тоник в молодые коньяки уровня VS , VSOP или Napoleon . В Скандинавии предпочитают более мягкие сорта, от скандинавских по происхождению фирм, такие, Braastad и Bache, эти коньяки не сочетаются с резкими острыми вкусами, но хороши с десертом.

В России ещё с николаевских времен сложилась традиция закусывать коньяк долькой лимона (иногда засахаренной), на Западе она так и называется — «а ля Николя». Согласно легенде, царь Николай I однажды попробовал настоящий французский коньяк. Он показался ему весьма крепким, а «под рукой» оказалась только долька лимона . Впоследствии он многократно повторял эту процедуру и как-то раз предложил попробовать своему окружению. С тех пор процесс заедания лимоном прижился и дошёл до наших дней (См. Николашка ). На самом же деле этот цитрус имеет очень резкий вкус, который «забивает» изысканную гамму коньяка. Стоит отметить, что эта традиция имеет распространение только в России и других странах постсоветского пространства .

• Godet
• Rémy Martin
• Courvoisier
• Hennessy
• Martell
• Camus
• w:en:Braastad
• w:en:Bache-Gabrielsen

• Бренди
• Armagnac
• Музей истории коньяка
• Николашка
• Музей коньячного дела Н. Л. Шустова

• Рэй Фоли. Глава 9. Коньяки и арманьяки // Рецепты коктейлей для «чайников» = Bartending For Dummies. — М. : «Диалектика» , 2007. — С. 416. — ISBN 0-7645-5051-9 .
• Nicholas Faith. Cognac. — 2004. — 280 с. — ISBN 1840009039 .

• Коньяк / С. С. Щербаков // Конго — Крещение. — М. : Большая российская энциклопедия, 2010. — С. 188. — ( Большая российская энциклопедия : [в 35 т.] / гл. ред. Ю. С. Осипов ; 2004—2017, т. 15). - ISBN 978-5-85270-346-0 .
• BNIC — официальный сайт «Национального Межпрофессионального Бюро Cognac»