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It’s easy to let age dictate which bottle you buy, especially with spirits like Cognac or scotch that can thrive for decades in oak. Cognac is even categorized by age, with designations like VS (at least two years), VSOP (at least four years), and XO (a minimum of 10 years). Age is important, but it’s not a guarantee of quality.
“Cognac is, at its essence, an expression of the grape,” says Aude Fraisse, bartender at Bar Crenn in San Francisco. “And younger styles like VS and VSOP often showcase that purity most clearly by preserving freshness, fruit, florality, and a direct sense of terroir before extended oak takes over.”
Younger Cognacs aren’t just more affordable than their older counterparts. They may be more versatile, as they often work better in cocktails than those that spent more time in oak.
According to the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac, a group that oversees the industry, mixed drinks account for up to 80% of global Cognac consumption. But don’t let the spirit get lost in the shuffle.
“You want clarity of flavor,” says Alex Francis, the cofounder of De Vie, a bar, restaurant, and retail shop in Paris. “When mixing, you can balance sweetness and alcohol heat yourself, but what you can’t so easily add is the depth of flavor that comes from a good-quality, if young, eau-de-vie.”
Fortunately, you’ve got options. Below, top bar pros recommend nine excellent and affordable Cognacs to try.
Hine VSOP
Food & Wine / Thomas Hine & Co
Scott Baird, beverage director at Starlite in San Francisco, recommends Hine VSOP. He calls Hine “a very old and respected, high-quality house.” When Baird evaluates Cognacs, he looks for “a satisfying integration of the fruit and the wood. For me, the best Cognac is where that threshold is honored. There is enough fruit, leftover grape, and that nice, dry, almost crackling fall-air quality to French oak that I love.”
RĂ©mi Landier Special Pale
Food & Wine / RĂ©mi Landier Cognac
Francis likes this Rémi Landier release, which hails from the Fins Bois cru. He says it a wonderful expression that falls between a VS and VSOP in age and is made without additives. It’s fresh and floral, with mild oak spice, citrus peels, and tropical fruits.
Fanny Fougerat Petite CigĂĽe
Food & Wine / Fanny Fougerat
Fanny Fougerat is a fourth-generation distiller, and she’s one of the few women bottling her own Cognac. The Petite Cigüe expression, described as fruity, luscious, and tangy, is another Francis favorite. “This is a great example of an eau-de-vie-forward, lighter, more elegant style of younger Cognac,” he says.
Merlet VSOP
Food & Wine / Merlet
Aude Fraisse describes Merlet VSOP as an excellent, affordable Cognac that delivers remarkable character without the XO price tag. She says that it “highlights vibrant, fruit-forward balance through thoughtful blending” across the Fins Bois and Petite Champagne regions. The Cognac is delicate and fruity, with notes of peach.Â
Camus Borderies VSOP
Food & Wine / Camus Cognac
Another Fraisse favorite, Camus Borderies VSOP is produced exclusively from the brand’s vineyards in the Borderies appellation, the smallest of Cognac’s regions. She says the VSOP “delivers an aromatic, floral profile shaped by the cru’s clay-limestone soils, which naturally yield intensely perfumed, subtly spicy eaux-de-vie.”
RĂ©my Martin 1738
Food & Wine / Remy Martin
“This is where Cognac starts to feel truly luxurious without becoming intimidating,” says Arthur Mooradian, a Cognac enthusiast and the senior vice president of operations for Berg Hospitality Group in Houston. Rémy Martin 1738 is made exclusively from Grande and Petite Champagne eaux-de-vie and aged longer than a typical VSOP. He says it delivers real depth, with baked fruit, caramel, and toasted oak, and has “a smooth, rounded finish that works just as well for sipping neat as it does in spirit-forward cocktails.”
Mooradian says that Rémy Martin 1738 is “the moment Cognac clicks. Rich, oak-forward, and silky. It drinks like a bridge between VSOP and XO, equally at home neat, on a big cube, or swapped into an Old Fashioned for whiskey drinkers ready to cross over.”
Ferrand 10 Générations
Food & Wine / Ferrand Cognac
Ferrand makes a full lineup of high-quality expressions that includes 10 Générations, which celebrates the Ferrand family’s prolific run as wine and spirits makers. “When sipping it, you’re going to get caramel, dried fruit, and gentle spice because of the quality blending and thoughtful barrel aging,” says Mario Martinez, executive mixologist for Travis Street Hospitality, a group with multiple concepts in Dallas. He says that it drinks better than its affordable price might indicate. He likes it neat, or mixed into a spirit-forward cocktail like an Old Fashioned.
RĂ©my Martin VSOP
Food & Wine / Remy Martin
Martinez recommends this workhorse bottle from Rémy Martin. He says it’s a classic VSOP with a silky texture and balanced flavors of dried fruits and vanilla. “It’s versatile enough for sipping but still has backbone in cocktails. I’ll usually drink this just on a big rock or as a Sidecar.”
Grosperrin CĂ©pages VSOP
Food & Wine / Grosperrin Cognac
Grosperrin Cépages VSOP is another great bottle that gets the nod from Fraisse. She describes it as “an artisanal, minimally handled expression with soft tannins and layered depth, serving as a transparent alternative to more expensive, oak-heavy XO Cognacs.” She says that all of her picks “show that complexity, elegance, and joy in Cognac don’t require long aging or a high price. Just precision, sourcing, and restraint.”
