Cognac Frapin Millésime 1992 has been named the best Cognac in the world at the Cognac Masters 2020. The French Brandy was awarded the title of Cognac Taste Master during the annual event, which took place at the Charlotte Street branch of Gaucho in London, England.
Matt Chambers, co‐founder of Whisky for Everyone; Evan Prousaefs, bar manager at The Leaf and Cane in London; Matt Neal, UK brand ambassador for Uncle Nearest; and Melita Kiely, editor of The Spirits Business magazine and chair of the event, were the judges for the blind-tasting competition.
The final round of the Cognac Masters 2020 featured one of the most impressive lineups in recent history. All Cognacs who had received Masters medals during the competition were retasted in a final heat that featured Hermitage 1960 Grand Champagne Cognac, Courvoisier Initiale Extra, Martell XXO, Frapin XO VIP – Single Cru, Hermitage 40 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac, and Hermitage Eleanor 60 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac.
It was the Cognac Frapin Millésime 1992 that came out on top in the end. The judges praised the spirit for its “fruitiness, versus dry spiciness and savoury quality”, adding that it gave “extra depth and complexity” to the spirit.
Chambers stated about this year’s Cognac Masters, “The consistency we’ve seen today is almost unparalleled with anything else I’ve judged, whatever spirit category you want to pick. The percentage here just shows how good Cognac really is. There’s a lot of discussion at the moment about whether the rules should be relaxed for Cognac, but would experimentation dilute the category? Would it take away from the quality? Maybe this is a reason to have some quite strict laws.”
It’s been a big week in the world of Cognac with another French Brandy picking up the award for “Spirit of the Year” at the 2020 San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge. The annual competition is one of the oldest and most revered of its kind in the United States.