THE FORGOTTEN CASKS, XO GRANDE CHAMPAGNE COGNAC, CIGAR BLEND 17-10

COGNAC, FRANCE

When it comes to the exploding demand for premium aged craft spirits, the search for singularity drives much of the remarkable appeal, especially as aficionados seek out limited batches, single lots or recently discovered, long-lost “orphan” barrels. Similar to the concept behind whiskey’s “Orphan Barrels” (once it’s gone, it’s gone forever), today’s offer is a rare gem – a singular expression produced using barrels that were rescued from the alcoves of historic Cognac cellars. Hand-selected and blended by the “Cognac Master” Alain Royer, this lot of Grande Champagne fruit was blended to create an exceptional Cognac that will not be reproduced again, appealing to spirit lovers’ shifting tastes and keeping pace with the world’s craft spirits movement.
 
Alain Royer caused quite the stir within the traditionally conservative region of Cognac when he and Jean-Pierre Cointreau, owner of the Renaud Cointreau group, recently unearthed hundreds of unblended Cognac batches from some of the region’s most prestigious houses. Crafted in the early part of the last century, these “forgotten casks” have been untouched, being too small to integrate into a single large blend. With Cointreau’s support, Royer has begun to blend and produce dozens of small, single lot Cognacs that are quickly being snapped up by connoisseurs all over the world. Working directly with Royer, we were fortunate to acquire a limited amount of one of these Forgotten Casks to offer for you today, his special Grande Champagne XO Cigar Blend.

The 6th generation of a Cognac family, Royer has been intimately involved with the region all his life. Educated at the Sorbonne in Paris, Royer would later launch the premium Cognac house A de Fussigny as well as develop the Armagnac and Cognac ventures for Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Now head of development for the Cointreau family, owners of over 500 acres of vineyards in the heart of Grande Champagne in the Cognac region, it is the Forgotten Casks project that has turned into Royer’s most passionate undertaking.

Using batches of Cognacs aged between 15 and 25 years exclusively from Grande Champagne, Cognac’s most coveted region, Royer’s XO Cigar Blend celebrates the marriage between cigars and Cognac, one of the spirit world’s most perfect pairings. Conceived, created and blended with a cigar aficionado in mind, this special edition XO is smooth, elegant and lush with a balanced structure that gives it a rare versatile ability to pair with different tastes and aromas of cigars, from a light or mild cigar to the richest and fullest flavored. With or without a cigar, this unique XO is unbelievably decadent, with aromas and flavors of fresh banana bread, honey, candied orange, maple syrup, dried fruit and rancio. 

With only 360 bottles available to us, this special batch “17-10” is a collectible like no other. And with 15% off the regular in-store price and no limit, this bottling will surely go fast. We suggest placing orders quickly as we will sell out. And once these bottles are gone, they will be gone forever.

*Offer NOT valid in-store. This offer is made pre-arrival, with items estimated to be delivered to your preferred store in Spring 2019. All sale prices are the lowest available at Total Wine & More and ONLY valid through Concierge Sales. No further discounts or coupons may be applied. Offer not valid in NC, NY, TN, VA, WA, WI and limited stores in GA. This offer is for ONE WEEK, or until sold out, and will expire on Tuesday, February 26, 2019.