# Good, smooth brandy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-smooth-brandy/462676 "2008-09-08T21:26:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-smooth-brandy/462676/1 "2008-09-08T21:26:58Z")
I had brandy once and it tasted mighty fine. It was smooth, rich, and a perfect relaxation drink. A couple weeks back I ordered a drink of brandy at the SUnspot Cafe, something of a local fixture. It made my mouth go numb and I had to gag it down. I left the Sunspot and never returned, and prolly never will. I later learned I had been served \*cooking \*brandy. I was not amused. Anyone got some good brands or brandy? ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-smooth-brandy/462676/2 "2008-09-08T21:44:18Z")
Grappa. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-smooth-brandy/462676/3 "2008-09-08T22:51:47Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > I had brandy once and it tasted mighty fine. It was smooth, rich, and a perfect relaxation drink. A couple weeks back I ordered a drink of brandy at the SUnspot Cafe, something of a local fixture. > > It made my mouth go numb and I had to gag it down. I left the Sunspot and never returned, and prolly never will. I later learned I had been served \*cooking \*brandy. I was not amused. > > Anyone got some good brands or brandy? One of my favorite _things_ in the whole world (not just favorite brandy; not just favorite liquor) is a Spanish brandy named Gran Duque dAlba. Incredibly smooth. Touch of sweetness, like hints of melted caramel. It’s not cheap… roughly $45 for a 750 ml bottle, but worth every delectable drop. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-smooth-brandy/462676/4 "2008-09-09T02:02:59Z")
Armagnac is your friend. > [@ExTank](#): > > Grappa. That’s good. Cruel, but good. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-smooth-brandy/462676/5 "2008-09-09T02:15:17Z")
Anything more oriented to a small budget? ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-smooth-brandy/462676/6 "2008-09-09T05:48:03Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Anything more oriented to a small budget? Armagnac is your friend. Also: Laird’s (the applejack people) also make a 7-year and a 12-year apple brandy that are pretty good. Clear Creek has a whole bunch of brandies; try the pear. If you’re genuinely just getting into brandy for the first time, you might want to try Metaxa as a gateway drug. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-smooth-brandy/462676/7 "2008-09-09T08:22:26Z")
I find that Courvoisier and Hennessy are both smooth enough to drink straight or with ice. Many cheaper brandies/cognacs can be a bit rough and need a mixer of some kind. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-smooth-brandy/462676/8 "2008-09-09T11:19:19Z")
See if you can get some good South African brandy. Made _exactly_ like good Cognac, by law, pot-stilled, oak-aged and smooth. At a fraction of the price.